Rebuilding the World
by Lady Alinor
Summary: What would have happened if Ginny had been the third person in the Aperio? How would it have changed things? Diversion from chapter 22, must read The World as We Knew It first. HG, AU. Abandoned.
1. Rescue

**If you haven't already read The World as We Knew It, I'd recommend reading it before you read this. **

_Sirius and Harry followed the man down numerous corridors and up a labyrinth of staircases. "Act like you're getting weaker," Sirius hissed in Harry's ear. It was part of the plan._

_Harry nodded slightly to show he'd heard. It wasn't hard to pretend. The corridors were guarded by Dementors at every turn, and every time they passed one, Harry felt his knees weakening as the screaming filled his head. Finally, his knees buckled on the twentieth staircase, and Sirius had to grab his arm to keep him from falling. _

_McNair looked back. "What's the matter with your cousin?" he said sharply._

"_He's never been around a Dementor before," Sirius said quickly. "He's having a bad reaction, that's all. He'll be fine."_

_McNair grunted and continued on up the stairs. Sirius supported Harry, who was still finding it hard to walk. He tried to memorise each turn they took, but it was hard as his eyes kept trying to roll back into his head. The screaming was relentless. _Block it out, _he told himself._ Think of Ron and Hermione. Think about Leila, and Mum and Dad. Anything happy.

_Now they were passing cells with prisoners in them. Harry couldn't really see into the cells, as each cell was closed in by a huge steel door with one tiny barred window near the top. The stench of urine and feces was overpowering; Harry choked, and even Sirius seemed to be trying not to breathe._

"_Here we are," the Death Eater grunted, stopping by one of the cell doors. He pulled from his pocket a large ring of severe-looking keys and fitted one into the massive bolt lock. With a couple jerks, the lock turned, and the cell door swung open._

Harry got one glance of a barren, dirty cell and a flash of red before something came smashing down on his cheek. He stumbled back, reeling and blinking away the bright lights that had suddenly obscured his vision. Sirius steadied him.

"_Ginny? _Bloody hell, what was that for?_"_ Harry exclaimed, fingering the spot where she'd hit his face.

"For leaving me in here for two sodding months, you bastard! Why didn't you come sooner? What's happened? Why am I here?" Ginny exclaimed, her face furious. "Holy mother of Merlin…" She trailed off when she was who Harry had brought with him. "Is that… _Sirius_?"

Harry's mind was spinning. This was all happening too fast… She was acting like she knew him. And her reaction to Sirius was genuine… It couldn't be…but what if it was true? What if she was the third person in the Aperio?

There was only one way to find out.

"Ginny, in my fifth year, we formed a secret Defence club. You came up with the name. What did we call our group?"

"Dumbledore's Army or the D.A.," she said, her brow crinkling. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

It was her. It was really Ginny! Harry wanted to hug her. She was pale and thin, but alive, and her eyes were still bright—unlike his godfather's eyes after his long imprisonment.

But then again, she'd only been here for two months.

"Harry, what on earth is going on?"

Ginny's question jerked him back to the present. Harry looked helplessly at his godfather, but Sirius was shaking his head bewilderedly.

"I don't have time to explain," he told her. "We've come to get you out, but you have to do what we say. As soon as you get out of here, contact Remus Lupin. He'll tell you what's happening."

"Remus? What's going on?" Sirius asked, looking more confused than ever. "You told Remus about our plan to break Ginny out of Azkaban? But…"

"No, I didn't tell Remus about this," Harry said. "I'm talking about something completely different, something I didn't tell you before…"

He felt torn—torn between the panicky feeling that time was ticking, and the deep desire to explain everything to both of them right here and now

Sirius seemed to suddenly realize where they were. "Harry, the potion…"

"Oh, right. Drink this, Gin."

"What is it?" she said, frowning at the vial he'd handed her.

"Polyjuice," Harry told her. He yanked out a few hairs and handed them to her. "Uh, you might want to put a robe on before you drink it, though."

"But if I'm becoming you, then why…" she trailed off, and her eyes widened. "Oh."

"Just hurry…we've only got ten minutes."

"Actually, it's more like five now," Sirius said, looking annoyed.

"Where's the robe?"

Harry handed it to her, and she slipped it over her head, then shoved the hair into the bottle. The potion sizzled and turned bright red.

"Here goes nothing." She tipped the vial up and emptied the potion. "You taste good, Harry," she commented, then gasped as the potion began to go into effect. A second later, the transformation was complete, and Harry was staring back at himself.

"I can't see anything. Why can't I see?" Ginny said, looking annoyed.

"Here," Harry said, handing her his glasses. "I won't need them."

"You've got horrible eyesight," Ginny told him. "So, do I look like you?"

"I can't tell," Harry said irritably. "You just took my glasses."

"Listen, you two, I don't know what's going on here, but if we want to pull this off, we need to get a move on," Sirius said, shifting back and forth uneasily.

"Right," Harry said. He handed another vial to Ginny, who yanked out a few of her hairs and plunged them into the bottle. The liquid simmered before turning a light shade of orange. It smelled like lavender.

Harry gulped it down, and immediately he could feel himself shrinking. "Wow," Ginny said, surveying him once the transformation was complete. "Did I really look that bad?"

"Worse," Sirius said. "Here, Harry, put this on over your clothes."

Harry slid the tattered black prison-robe over his head.

"Now, no peeking, Harry," Ginny was saying, scowling at him. "I still have a little modesty left."

"Hey," he protested. "You're in _my_ body! I should be telling you the same thing. Tit for tat."

"But my Polyjuice will run out in an hour, and it looks as if you've got enough for a month," she said, surveying the box of vials Sirius had pulled out from under his robes. "Hang on… You're going to be here for a _month?"_

"Not quite," Harry told her. "This Polyjuice'll last for three days at the most."

"But…but... We're leaving you here?"

"That was kind of the point," Harry said wryly. "You can leave disguised as me, and I'll stay here disguised as you. I'm going to need some more of your hair, by the way."

"But how are you going to get out?"

Harry grinned. "I forgot to tell you, didn't I? I'm an Animagus. Sirius taught me."

Ginny's eyes widened, and then rested on Harry's godfather. "Sirius taught you? But…I mean… Harry, what is happening? I thought…I mean…"

"He was dead, I know," Harry said tiredly.

"What?" Sirius said, taking a step back. "Harry, _what is going on?_"

"We don't have time… But I promise, Professor Lup... I mean Remus… Just talk to him. He'll tell you both everything. I swear. And I'll be out in a couple of days, and then we'll have time to sort all this out. Sirius, the other potion?"

Sirius seemed to be struggling with something for a moment, but then he nodded and handed Harry the Instant-Grubbiness potion. "Pour this over your head."

Harry did and shivered as he felt layers of dirt accumulating on his skin and in his hair. _It's only for a day. Ginny survived this for months. I can do this for a couple days._

Sirius reclaimed the bottle, and packed the other empty vials and extra supplies. "You two should probably switch shoes," he observed.

"Oh, right," Ginny said. "I was wondering why they were so tight."

"I can't believe your shoes didn't split," Harry said, kicking off his own shoes.

"I have big feet," Ginny said, sighing. "It's my burden to bear."

Harry laughed. "Even if your shoes had split, I'm sure you won't want to keep them after this."

"Oh, no, they're a souvenir," Ginny said, grinning. She tossed the shoes to Harry, who did the same with his trainers. " Don't loose them."

"Fine, fine," Harry huffed, slipping the leather oxfords on his feet. "Where'd you get them, anyway? They don't look like standard Azkaban attire."

"Someone's been sending packages," Ginny said. "There was no note. Usually the packages contain food, but the last one had the shoes and that blanket over there."

They fell silent, and Harry suddenly heard footsteps echoing in the corridor outside.

"Quick," Sirius hissed.

Harry sat down in the corner as Sirius and Ginny took their positions by the door.

"Thank you, Harry," Ginny said quietly. "You do realize I owe you one after this, right? This is the second time you've saved my hide."

Harry managed a quick grin before the cell door opened and he had to rearrange his features into the "listless" look.

"Time's up," the guard snapped, and with one last look, Sirius and Ginny left the cell.

The metal door slammed shut, and with a sinking feeling, Harry realized that he was locked in Azkaban.


	2. Escape

**I'd like to point out that this story is AU in its truest form. Things will be different—I'll make that clear right now. Just recall what happened before and after Harry's Azkaban visit, and try to remember that anything—and I mean **_**anything—**_**that was stated or occurred after the Rescue is subject to change. Some changes are evident in this chapter, and more will be clearer as the story progresses. **

After two days, six hours, and twenty-two minutes, Harry'd had enough.

There was only so much an innocent person could take, he reasoned, and spending more time than absolutely necessary in Azkaban was one of them. The Dementors' effects, though temporarily forgotten at the sight of Ginny alive and in good spirits, had returned in full force not long after Sirius and Ginny's departure. Harry had relived the nightmares of the other world more times he cared to: his mother's frantic screams, Dumbledore's body falling off the tower, the Chamber of Secrets, the graveyard, Sirius's body tumbling gracefully into the archway, Quirrel unwrapping the turban... But he was also haunted with worries and doubts. Had they made it out alive? What if Sirius and Ginny had been caught? What if he flew away from Azkaban tonight and got back to Grimmauld place, only to find that the other two had never arrived?

Harry couldn't take the suspense any more. Two days was enough time; two days, three days, what was the difference? The Ministry would still have no proof that Ginny was helped by any outside source. Besides, Harry was dying to get back to Grimmauld place and talk to Sirius and Ginny. Had they found Lupin yet? Had the werewolf told them everything? Had they told his parents? Was Ginny alright and recovering well from her stay in Azkaban?

He glanced up at the window; outside, the sky was always the same colour—gray. But the darker shade of gray indicated that night was falling. Soon it would be dark enough to execute his escape.

Harry took a double dose of Polyjuice, then carefully tucked all the remaining vials into his robes. After carefully scanning the room for anything he'd forgotten, he sat back to begin the tedious task of waiting.

Slowly the gray sky turned black. The Dementors came and left, but their effects weren't quite so bad. Harry was buoyed by the thought of escape. Just a little longer. Then he could see Ginny again.

The patch of sky was now completely dark. The warden made one last round before disappearing from the corridor. By the chill that settled over the cell, Harry knew that there were Dementors stationed nearby, but from the previous nights, he knew they'd stay where they were.

At last the prison was quiet, save for the periodical moans of prisoners who had been incarcerated for too long. Slowly, Harry stood, closed his eyes, and concentrated. The feeling of transformation washed over him like a wave of blessed relief. He stretched his wings, just savoring the warmth flooding back into his limbs—well, wings.

A few flaps, and he had risen into the air. Only a few more feet of altitude to gain before he'd reach the window…he was almost there…

He flew straight at the largest gap in the bars. Instantly, a shock of hot electricity shot through him, a pain unlike any he'd ever experienced before. He tumbled backwards, transforming back seconds before hitting the ground as all around him alarms began to ring.

The window had been warded. How stupid of him to assume otherwise! He gasped for breath and examined his shoulder where three angry welts were quickly rising—a token from the enchanted window.

Footsteps and yells echoed in the corridor. The guards had been alerted, and the shrieking, ear-splitting alarms seemed to be resonating from his cell. The temperature was rapidly dropping, indicating the fast approach of the Dementors. Harry glanced around wildly. What was he going to do?

His eyes fell on the narrow bars on the cell door. Maybe he still had a chance…

Ignoring the screams in his head, Harry threw all of his energy into transforming. With a pop, he was again a falcon, and he flew at the bars, tucking his wings close by his side. It was a narrow fit, but with few wiggles, he was through.

To his left, McNair was running at him, wand out. To his right, three Dementors were gliding closer. One already had its hand at the hood, ready to lower it… But right now, McNair was Harry's biggest threat.

_Wand.__ I need a wand._

McNair shouted a spell; Harry dodged it, still in his Animagus form, and shot at McNair.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Harry avoided this curse too; now he was behind McNair, circling him as the Death Eater spun madly to get a good aim at him. Harry waited until he was directly above McNair's back; then he transformed.

Like a lumbering tree, McNair fell, Harry's weight pressing him to the ground. With one fluid motion, Harry snatched the wand and pointed it at the Dementors, Ginny's face vivid in his mind. "Expecto Patronum!"

An enormous silvery stag burst from his wand; the Dementors vanished as the stag galloped the length of the corridor, finally returning to Harry. "Follow me!" he yelled, and began to run in the direction McNair had come from.

_Two turns to the right, three flights of stairs—or was it four?_

He took the first right, his stag still cantering behind him like a great silvery familiar. One more right, and then there was the door to the stairs before him.

"Gottcha!"

It was too late. Someone had seized the back of Harry's shirt, and he fell, cursing himself for being so neglectful—he had assumed McNair was knocked out by the fall and hadn't bothered to stun him. In his flight, he hadn't realised he was being followed. Harry fell backwards on the stone floor, several vials rolling out of his pockets as he hit the ground. He grasped wildly for them, but missed.

"I've got you now, you little bitch!" McNair screamed triumphantly.

McNair pulled his hand away to prepare for a punch; Harry frantically kicked, and luckily he hit the man in the shin. Hard. McNair howled in pain, and desperately, Harry rolled out of the way, jammed the wand in his pocket, and performed the fastest transformation yet. He launched himself upwards.

"I'll get you, Weasley!"

But on wing, Harry discovered he was much faster than the lumbering oaf on foot. And he still had McNair's wand. He shot towards the exit, transforming in the doorway and grabbing the wand once again. "Stupefy!"

The red jet of light hit the Death Eater between the eyes, and he tumbled to the ground. Harry took a deep breath, holding his heaving stomach. To his complete surprise, he heard shouts and a swell of applause. Faces were pressed to the bars of each cell door. The prisoners had been watching the fight with enthused interest.

"Go get 'em, kid!"

"Nice Patronus, girly!"

"Nice Patronus my arse," the closest prisoner scoffed. "More like nice Animagus form!"

"Thanks," Harry said, too nonplussed to remember to make his voice higher. Ah well. It came out a croak, anyway. A piece of filthy red hair slipped over his shoulder, and he realised that he still looked like Ginny.

"Uh, thanks," he tried again, raising his tone. "How do I get out of here?" _Three flights down, and then I'm completely lost._

"Down two flights of stairs," a woman called in a raspy voice. "Go right, take the next left, go down three more flights of stairs, straight until you reach the circular room, take the third door from the right…"

"How would you know?" the man on Harry's right sneered.

"I've been to trial seven times," she retorted. "You'd think I had it down by now."

"Thanks," Harry said a third time. "Well, I'll be seeing you!"

"Hey kid, will you git me out too?" the man nearest called. "I'm innocent!"

"You murdered five people!" the woman shrieked. "That's what you call innocent?"

"Uh, nice meeting you," Harry called over the ruckus. "I'll be going now."

Amid encouragements such as, "Good luck!" "May Merlin go with you, kid!" and "Kill the guard next time, sweetheart!", Harry cast his Patronus again, knowing he'd need it if he met the Dementors again, and burst into the stairwell. He didn't meet anyone for two flights of stairs, and was feeling pretty optimistic as he flew through the door onto the next level and turned right.

The news has spread like wildfire. The prisoners immediately began cheering as Harry started down the next hall, his Patronus bounding behind him. Then the next door on the left burst open and Harry was confronted by three guards, all with wands.

Instantly, he dove to the side as three green curses flew over his head. He threw up a shield that deflected the next volley of curses before crumbling.

"Roll!" someone screamed, and Harry did, just as three more spells left dents in the rocks where he'd just been.

"Stupefy!" he shouted.

His spell flew wild, ricocheting off the wall, but amazingly enough, it hit one of the wardens who had run forward to get a better aim. Harry crab-crawled back and took cover in a doorway as spells from the remaining two exploded around him. One of the slicing curses just nicked his elbow.

Harry hissed in pain, retaliating with a well placed _Impedimenta. _Unfortunately the shorter of the two men threw up a shield just in time, and the spell dissolved.

They were getting closer. The silver stag disappeared in a puff of silver. He threw up a temporary shield, then transformed back to a falcon and took flight. The spectators screamed in delight.

Harry had little practice flying, other than swooping in circles around Sirius's living room; but he did have extensive practice on a broom. Flying in his falcon form was basically the same, only without the broom. The techniques were similar. Lean the way you want to go, and what goes up must come down.

Soaring and swooping in the high-ceilinged hallway, Harry flew at the two men, dodging spells left and right.

"Good god, he can fly!" someone yelled, and inwardly, Harry grinned. He _could _fly. Just let them try to take him out.

He transformed mid-air, once again using his weight to bring down the shorter man. "Stupefy!" he cried, and the fallen man slumped over, out cold. With a roar of rage, the other man was on top of him.

In the midst of flailing arms and legs, Harry could hear the prisoners calling out the shots, and yelling encouragements to him. He kicked, scratched, bit, rolled, but it was no use. The other man was too strong. In desperation, Harry transformed again, slipping through the man's hands and taking flight.

But as he dodged curses mid-air, Harry realised that the last warden was much more formidable in the area of aim than the last two. He couldn't even get close to try another flanking attack because of the never-ending succession of curses flying in his direction.

Direct combat. That was the only way to get past the last obstacle.

Retreating a little, Harry transformed back, wand aloft.

Cursing, the man threw another spell at the escapee, who dodged it easily. "A duel it is," said Harry, keeping his voice level.

"A duel! A duel!" the spectators echoed.

"Shut up!" the man bellowed at the prisoners, and Harry took the opportunity to cast the first spell.

"_Impedimenta!"_

And so the fight went. Spells, shields, ducking, dodging… After only a minute, Harry was panting. He hadn't eaten in over forty-eight hours, and the lack of decent sleep had taken its toll. He was loosing strength…and fast.

Harry decided soon into the duel that his opponent was probably not a Death Eater. The spells were dangerous, some potentially deadly, but the man didn't have the extensive knowledge of dark curses that most of the Death Eaters flaunted during fights.

He was right in the middle of casting another spell, when one of the prisoners screamed, "Holy mother of Merlin, look at the kid!"

He couldn't help himself; neither, it seemed, could the warden. Glancing down, Harry was horrified to find that was growing, changing. His bones were extending, lengthening, as his hair seemed to be receding into his scalp. He was vaguely aware of a pinching sensation in his feet. _Oh, crap._

"Polyjuice?" the man sputtered, gaping.

Impulsively Harry seized the chance to throw one last spell before his eyesight got any worse. The spell found its mark, and the man hit the ground a second later.

He stumbled back, gasping for breath as the tips of his hair turned black again and his bones stretched a final inch, returning him to his full height. The adrenaline was draining from his veins; the weariness was quickly setting in. But he couldn't stop, not for even a minute. Who knew how many more men he'd be expected to fight in order to get out? And once he did reach the exit, how many Dementors would be awaiting him outside?

_Don't think about it. Think about Ginny._

But now he had a bigger problem to think about. The man had seen him—seen him un-Polyjuicing. Harry had never wished so hard that he'd paid more attention to Hermione's abundant knowledge of spells and charms. A Memory Charm would be ideal. But there was nothing he could do, especially since the creeping chill announced the approach of even more Dementors.

"Right," Harry said aloud, and after casting yet another Patronus, he set out for the door. At least he was pretty sure it was the door. Without his glasses, the world was blurry.

"Way to go, kid!" several people shouted, as the applause and cheering started up again as Harry bolted through the doorway and began the descent. Halfway down, he missed a stair and fell. Cursing, he pushed himself down to his feet. _This is stupid, _he thought, and transformed.

In his falcon form, he had perfect eyesight, and marvelous hearing. To Harry's surprise, his Patronus still bounded behind him as he spread his wings and glided down, skimming lightly above the winding staircase. He'd thought that Prongs would disappear when he changed forms himself, but was grateful for the companionship.

The door at the bottom of the staircase was open. The straight hallway was surprisingly empty, but with his enhanced hearing, he could hear footsteps pounding in other corridors. This passageway didn't have any cells lining it, for which Harry was glad. Although it _had_ been an interesting feeling to have the inmates cheering him on…

Harry soared into the circular room. _Three doors on the right…_

"There he is!" someone shouted, and suddenly the footsteps grew louder. No less than ten men were running towards him from several different directions. But by a slip of fate, or maybe luck, the third door on the right was open, and the corridor beyond was empty.

Dodging flying spells, Harry shot through the archway and sped towards the double iron gates that kept him from the outside. One was slightly open.

"Shut the gates!" a warden bellowed from behind, and moment later someone else yelled out a spell Harry had never heard before. The beam of light shot past Harry's right wing and hit the iron door. Slowly, it began to swing shut.

_Faster! I've got to make it out! Got to…make it…got to…__make it out…to Sirius…to…Ginny…_

A final burst of energy flooded Harry's falcon body. A split second before the iron door slammed shut, he slipped through. The cold sea gust met him, and Harry relaxed and let the stiff wind carry him higher…higher…

Prongs galloped beside him, the silvery stag shining like a beacon in the night.

The two Dementors guarding the entrance didn't even trouble him as he soared above them, straight into the dark nighttime sky.

**A/N:** So, I apologize for the wait. I haven't forgotten about you. In fact, I spent all afternoon writing this instead of studying for my semester finals tomorrow. I hope you're happy! It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do with this story (and any good author knows you have to have a plan--the bad stories are the ones people just start for fun without an outline), but now I think I know, so here it goes. Any ideas, however, would be appreciated from my loyal readers... --hint hint--

I do have lots of ideas for this story. It will be very, _very_ different than TWAWKI. Very. For one, more Harry/Ginny. More Harry and co.-kicking-Voldemort-arse. More mystery and intrigue, I hope. And quite a few more surprises. Not as many deaths, I hope. Quite a lot will be different.

Next chapter, recovery and the Confrontation that will rock several families to their very roots when they find out the truth…

One more thing, as for Ginny being too perky, you can blame it on the excitement of seeing Harry after two horrible months in Azkaban. Adrenaline does a lot for you. And as for her knowing Harry was going to rescue her, as far as Ginny knew, she hadn't changed worlds at all. Harry and Lupin are going to have a lot of explaining to do. A lot.

And if Harry's escape was simply too easy, I'm sorry. I had to get him out somehow! And he was able to easily perform advanced spells on McNair's wand because he successfully stole the wand. And from DH we know that wands obey the rightful owner after a duel, right?


	3. Reunion

The chilling wind lifted Harry higher and higher into the night sky. He'd been airborne for hours now, soaring high above the twinkling lights below. It'd been quite some time since he'd reached the mainland, but he hadn't dared make an appearance at the Deadly Dagger. Most likely by now every Auror in England was looking for him, and the towns closest to Azkaban would be the first places they'd look. They'd know what he looked like from the guard's description. 

Silently cursing his stupidity in allowing the guard to see him, Harry fought back a wave of exhaustion as he beat his wings to gain a few feet of altitude. His right wing throbbed from the Slicing Curse and the darkness pressed in all around. He missed Prongs; the Patronus had faded from view several hours earlier.

He needed find a safe place and Apparate the rest of the way to Grimmauld Place. He hadn't been the best at geography, but he did remember Sirius telling him that Aberdeen was on the northern coast of England. Even by flying, the journey was bound to take many more hours. Harry wasn't sure if he could make it that far with his hurt arm. But he was also unsure of his abilities to Apparate properly.

He'd just have to take his chances.

He circled, losing altitude quickly, and landed in an empty field. With a pop, Harry transformed, hissing as the pain radiated down his arm. His cloths were wet, most likely from the clouds he'd flown through early in his journey. For a moment, Harry considered drying his clothes and attempting a a simple healing spell with McNair's wand, but he quickly dispelled the wishful thought, knowing he'd need every ounce of his magical reserves to achieve a successful Apparation

He closed his eyes and concentrated. _Please let me get there…please let me not splinch myself… _

And then, with a sickening compressing feeling and a stomach-lurching jerk, he was standing dizzily in front of the old, grim house.

Harry staggered slightly as he climbed the steps and knocked. He heard movement, shuffling, voices… _Five, four, three, two, one. _

There was a loud clanking noise as the bolt was pulled back and the door jerked open. "Harry!" someone gasped. "Oh, thank Merlin…"

Harry blinked and saw that the faint outlines of Sirius and another man he didn't recognize pulling him inside and drawing him down the hall and into the living room. The lights blinded him for a moment, but then for the second time in the last three days, he made out a red-haired blur rushing at him. Instinctively, Harry winced, but this time instead of slapping him, Ginny threw her arms around him in what was probably the best hug he'd ever received. Ever.

"You're alright! Oh, Harry… I was so worried…"

"Ginevra Weasley, get back to the couch!" Sirius bellowed. The moment was broken, and Ginny pulled away.

"I'm perfectly fine," she protested, and Harry squinted to get a better look at her.

"You look great," he said honestly, not taking his eyes off Ginny as the Black brothers propelled him toward the sofa.

"Don't be fooled," the man Harry'd finally decided must be Sirius's brother growled. "She was as weak as a kitten when she got here…"

"I feel great!" Ginny argued, hands on her hips.

"…and she still it," Regulus finished.

"She's high on potions," Sirius said. "Ginny, couch. Now."

Grumbling, the girl obeyed, sitting down next to Harry, who was leaning tiredly against the cushions. He felt her hand rest gently on his arm, but couldn't help wincing when she pressed on the site of his cut.

Ginny jerked her hand away and gasped. "What happened?"

"Slicing curse," Harry mumbled. "I'm fine."

"Idiotic boy," Regulus exclaimed. "Of course you're not fine. Here. This will help with the pain."

Harry saw the blurry object being shoved at him; he reached for it, but missed.

"What's wrong?" Sirius began, but then he paused. "Oh. Ginny, where did you put Harry's glasses?"

"In the bathroom upstairs," she said, standing, but the older man cut her off.

"Sit," he said in a dangerous tone as he headed for the door. "I'll get it."

Ginny sat obediently. "Hold out your arm," she commanded, and Harry obliged. In a second she had whipped a wand—his wand—out, and had cut the tattered sleeve away, wincing as the bloodied wound was revealed. "Ouch," she said sympathetically, carefully performing a wound cleansing charm.

Regulus watched silently. "He's surprised," Ginny told Harry. "They think I shouldn't be able to handle even simple spells with a wand, though I can't imagine why."

"Ginny…"

"It's stupid," she continued stubbornly. "I'm using your wand, aren't I? The Ministry won't be able to trace me. There's no reason…"

"Ginny," Harry interrupted, and this time she paused. "Did you speak with Remus Lupin?"

"Well, no; we firecalled him yesterday, and it seems he's out of town…"

"We need to try again," Harry said firmly. He closed his eyes for a second, then continued, lowering his voice. He was keenly aware that Regulus was listening. "He's the only one who can explain all of this…"

"Harry," she said quietly, matching his tone. "What in the world is going on?"

"Remus…"

"I can't wait for Remus. I've got to know the truth. What's happening? Harry, I woke up on the first day of summer to discover I was locked in a cell in _Azkaban_ and no one would tell me anything at all as to why I was there, what I'd done…the wardens laughed at me, the Dementors tormented me, the prisoners were too far away to talk to, but not so far that I couldn't hear their screams at night."

Harry shuddered. "Gin…"

"I waited for someone to come," she said, pressing on determinedly. "I thought maybe a Ministry official would come to take me to trial, or at least to discuss the charges with me. If not, maybe an Order member or my parents, but no one showed up. I nearly gave up, but I had to keep hoping to keep from losing my sanity. I had to believe you'd come. And you did.

"Now we're here. Sirius is alive, Grimmauld Place is completely different from the Headquarters I remember, I've never even heard of this Regulus person, and both Sirius and Regulus have hushed conversations when they think I'm not listening."

She applied a little too much pressure on his wound, and he pulled away, hissing slightly.

"Sorry," Ginny said. "Your arm isn't healing with any of the spells I know. I'm no expert, but I think it might be a cursed wound. Who fired the spell?"

Harry shrugged painfully. "I'm not sure. One of the guards, I guess."

She pursed her lips. "Maybe it was a Death Eater. Did you see anyone you recognized?"

"McNair. But I stunned him."

"Good," Ginny said. "Exactly what that bastard deserved. Oh, and this is going to hurt a little."

He could handle pain, and said so in so many words. Ginny conjured up some clean strips of cloth, explaining that cursed wounds could often only be healed the slower Muggle way—with time. She wrapped the bandages around his arm and tied neat knots with clever fingers.

"I found them," Sirius announced as he entered the room. "I brought some clothes and potions for you as well, Harry… Hey, what'd you do to his arm?"

The last question was directed at Ginny. She looked up mildly and accepted the glasses Sirius handed her. "I cleaned it and then did some diagnostic spells. It's a cursed wound—it won't heal with any of the spells I tried, so I just bound it up the Muggle way." She passed the glasses to Harry who shoved them onto his nose and felt a burst of pleasure as the dimly lit sitting room came into sharp clarity.

Regulus silently handed Harry a potion, which he downed; immediately he felt better. "Where'd you learn healing spells?" he asked Ginny, curious.

"I got interested in them in my fourth year, and started paying close attention to Madame Pomfrey whenever I had to go to the hospital wing. I read a few books in fifth year after you asked me out and practiced a bit." She shrugged apologetically, a blush gracing her cheeks. "I figured they'd come in handy, dating the Boy-Who-Lived and all."

Harry grinned a bit bashfully. There was so much to say, so many things to explain, but the most important words of all pushed to the front of his brain and made all the other pressing issues look trifling in comparison. "Ginny," he blurted before he could stop himself. "I'm…I'm sorry for breaking up with you."

She smiled a tiny smile and reached up to gently brush her fingers across his jawline. "I know."

"You're…you're not mad?"

Ginny shrugged. "I was at first, I suppose, but I couldn't stay upset for too long…besides, you only did it because you thought I'd be safer. You are a prat sometimes, Harry Potter."

Harry solemnly agreed with her, causing her to giggle and pull his head down for a soft, lingering kiss… His protests that he was still covered with the dirt and grime of Azkaban died in his throat as she pressed her lips to his.

"Besides," Ginny murmured, "you made it up when you rescued me."

Involuntarily, Harry slipped one arm around her waist as the other hand came to rest on her neck. He was about to move in for another kiss when:

"Oi, you two!"

Harry pulled away and looked up, his cheeks burning. He'd nearly forgotten about Sirius and Regulus, being so focused on Ginny. She didn't look embarrassed at all. "What?"

"If you two lovebirds are finished yet with your touching reunion, I think I can safely say for both myself and my brother that we would like to know exactly what is going on," Sirius said angrily, glaring at the two. "We want answers."

"Lupin…" Harry began, but Sirius cut him off with an angry noise.

"No. I want to hear it from you. I thought you'd told me the truth that night when you revealed your plans to rescue Ginny, but nothing here is adding up. Instead of finding a shell of a girl in the prison cell, we find this." He gestured wildly in Ginny's direction. "Sure, she's malnourished and sickly, but she's not broken. You two act as if you've known each other forever, which is impossible given the circumstances! I've seen her cast spells no one with only a first year's education should be able to master."

"I've completed my fifth year!" Ginny cut in angrily.

"No, you haven't," Sirius insisted. "You can't have! It's completely impossible. You were in Azka…"

"Yes, she did," Harry said, and every head in the room turned to look at him. He rubbed his temples, feeling a massive headache coming on. He needed to focus. There was so much to explain, and he had no idea where to start.

"Tell him the truth, Harry," said Ginny, looking defiant.

"OK," he finally said. There was a sound of whooshing air as Sirius let his breath out in relief. "I'll tell you," Harry continued pointedly, "but on the condition that as soon as I do, you'll firecall Remus. He needs to be here."

Sirius nodded his consent.

Harry took a deep breath. They'd think he was crazy—all of them. _Here goes nothing. _

"Ginny and I…we're from a different reality."

**A/N: **Short, but I can promise the next will be longer. WIth lots of explanations. And lots of people.

Review! 


	4. Revelations

The fireplace blazed green as Sirius threw a handful of powder in and called out, "Remus Lupin."

He stuck his head into the flames and it was several moments before Lupin's voice said sleepily, "Sirius? What is it?"

"Nothing too important," Sirius replied, sounding agitated. "Except I think my godson has finally taken one too many Bludgers to the head. He's babbling on like an idiot and keeps insisting you need to be here. Maybe you can talk some sense into him?"

Lupin's voice instantly changed from sleepy to alert and alarmed. "I'll be right there."

Sirius withdrew his head, and a few moments later, Lupin appeared in a cloud of green smoke. His har was sticking up in odd places and he wore a hastily adorned robe over plaid pyjama pants. At first, he looked a little dazed, but when he caught sight of Ginny, his expression changed to one of shock. "Ginny Weasley?" he asked, blinking in disbelief.

Ginny gave a little wave from her seat on the sofa next to Harry, who still had his arm protectively around her waist. "Hi Professor," she said, and instantly Lupin's surprised look changed into outright astonishment.

Lupin's reaction had been in itself completely unique to the other's reactions to Harry's announcement that he and Ginny were from another reality. Sirius had at first laughed at the absurdity of the idea; Regulus had said nothing, simply standing stoically by the door, his face displaying no emotion at all. Ginny had responded with open astonishment and curiosity. "We _are?" _she'd gasped, then after muttering "Well, that would explain a lot," she'd launched into a barrage of questions Harry refused pointedly to answer until Remus arrived.

A snort from Sirius jerked Harry back to reality. "Professor?" he scoffed. "Moony's never taught a day in his life."

"Actually, I taught Defense Against the Dark Arts for a year at Hogwarts," Lupin said absently, his eyes still riveted unbelievingly on Ginny. "Harry, how… How in Merlin's name did you manage to pull _this_ off?" Lupin gestured at Ginny, then shook his head again, as if trying to clear away a vision or apparition.

"He and Sirius got visitor passes, then smuggled in vials of Polyjuice Potion," Ginny volunteered. "Harry and I traded places, then Sirius took me to the boat and we flooed back here…" She trailed off, and looked expectantly at Harry.

"I stayed there until last night," Harry said, picking up the story. "Then when it was dark I decided I couldn't wait any longer so I transformed and tried to fly out the window, only to discover that the windows were warded." Sirius and Regulus both looked alarmed. "The alarms went off, so I slipped out of the bars of the cell and flew out of the prison, apparating the rest of the way when I found a safe place to land." He paused uncertainly, not sure how much to share of his escape. He needed to tell them about the guard who had spotted him, and about his fight with McNair eventually, but…

"On my way out," Harry began, but Lupin cut him off.

"You're an _Animagus__?" _

"A Falcon," Ginny answered proudly, grinning up at Harry, who managed a small smile back at her. "Did you know he learned how to transform in only…"

But Lupin had moved on, rounding on Ginny. "And you! How did you know…did Harry tell you that I'd taught? How did you know to call me Professor?"

Ginny's grin faded into confusion. She looked quickly at Harry before turning back to Lupin, her brow wrinkled in perplexity. "You taught me, in my second year, Professor. Don't you remember?"

Lupin's face turned completely pale as he stared at the girl. Then he took a few staggering steps back; Sirius caught his arm and guided him into a seat. The werewolf sank into the high backed chair, staring at nothing, muttering under his breath. "Good Merlin…the third… She's the third…"

"ENOUGH," Sirius shouted, stalking forward. "Have all of you gone _mad_? Remus, pull yourself together. You're forty, not _four_. Harry and Ginny, I want an explanation. NOW."

"She can't be the third," Lupin suddenly said, his voice louder, though he spoke to no one in particular. He didn't seem to have heard Sirius. "It's not logical…it can't be true…"

"Harry," Ginny cut in angrily. "What does he mean, the third? What did he just call me? And why…"

"Harry, an explanation, NOW," Sirius demanded.

"It's not possible," Lupin muttered. "She didn't know them. But she remembers me teaching her… I don't understand…"

"Of _course_, I remember you teaching me," Ginny interrupted furiously. "Do all of you think I've been put under a Memory Charm or something? I remember loads of stuff, Professor Lupin, like the way you flirted shamelessly with Tonks at every meal at Grimmauld Place, and the way your Boggart is a full moon, and the time when you stopped Sirius from slipping Compulsive Draught in my Pumpkin Juice when he was trying to hook Harry and me up…"

"What?" Harry said, rounding on Ginny. "When was that?"

"_Harry_, answer my question, or will I have to threaten you with a wand?" Sirius growled.

"OK, OK!" Harry shouted, the noise finally pushing him over the edge. He couldn't take their infernal questioning any longer, not with the headache already pounding behind his temples. He untangled himself from Ginny and pushed himself out of his seat. The room was completely silent as he took a few steps forward.

"I _said,_ I'll explain, but you can't expect me to be able to tell you ANYTHING when you're all yelling questions at me!"

Only Ginny looked slightly guilty. Sirius crossed his arms; Lupin looked like a man lost.

"No talking. Any of you. Then I might be able to answer some questions," Harry said, and to his relief, all four nodded begrudgingly.

He took a deep breath, and turned to the Werewolf. "Remus: Yes, Ginny's the third. No, I don't know why. It's only something we'll be able to figure out if we can understand the magical theory better. As for proof, you heard her yourself. She remembers you teaching at Hogwarts, something I definitely wouldn't have had time to tell her in the few minutes we last saw each other in Azkaban. And see for yourself—does Ginny look like someone who's been in Azkaban for over four years?" Ginny started to protest, but Harry cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Does she?"

Lupin slowly shook his head, and Harry smiled grimly. "It's because she's only been there since the first day of summer."

"I was in _Azkaban_ since first year?" Ginny exclaimed.

Sirius snorted, so Harry turned to him next. "Sirius: Yes, we're from another reality. All three of us—Lupin, Ginny, and me. I'm sorry I lied to you. The real reason I couldn't stand to leave her in Azkaban was this: in my world, we are—were—dating."

"Prat," Ginny muttered from behind him, and Harry fought back a grin. "We _are_ dating," she corrected.

Harry turned back to Sirius. "Are," he said meekly. "Ginny and I _are_ dating. It also appears she's got me on a tight leash."

Something hit him between the shoulder blades, and he shrugged. "See?"

Sirius's mouth twitched.

"I'm serious, though, about the other reality," Harry continued, sobering. "I'm not quite sure how it works, but we're the victims of an Aperio." Sirius looked puzzled, but something in Regulus's face made Harry suspicious that the younger Black brother had heard of said magical phenomenon before. "Basically, the three of us wished the same thing at the same time, a magical connection was formed, throwing us into an alternate reality where our desire had come true, no matter how many other things had to go bad."

"What was the binding sentiment?" Regulus said, and Harry looked over in surprise. It was the first sentence he'd heard the man speak since he'd made his first startling announcement about being from another reality.

"We wished…" Harry paused and took another deep breath. "We…Lupin and I, anyway…we wanted my parents to be alive again."

"They weren't alive…" Sirius started.

"No," Harry said bluntly. "Voldemort killed them." Several people in the room winced, but Harry wasn't paying attention to whom. He instead stared at the opposite wall as he doggedly pressed on. "There was a prophecy in my world that at the end of the seventh month a baby would be born with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord, and the Dark Lord would mark him, but neither could live while the other survived. Dumbledore—who didn't die until last year in my reality—was pretty sure the prophecy referred either to me or to Neville Longbottom. So both families went into hiding, and my parents picked you, Sirius, as the Secret-keeper. Then at the last minute, there was a switch. It was to confuse Voldemort, and not even Dumbledore knew about it. They switched from you to Peter Pettigrew. And then…"

"No," Sirius interrupted. "That's not right. James would have picked Remus—I know he would have chosen Moony over Wormtail…."

"There was a traitor amongst the Marauders," Lupin cut in unexpectedly. Harry looked over, surprised to see that Lupin was sitting up and listening intently. The werewolf sighed. "You and James thought it was me. So you picked Pettigrew, but he went straight to Voldemort and betrayed the Potters." He fell silent.

"Voldemort came to Godric's Hollow and murdered my parents," Harry continued, not meeting Sirius's eyes. "He tried to murder me, but the curse backfired and defeated him. The prophecy was being fulfilled as planned."

"But at what cost?" Lupin muttered.

"A lot happened," Harry said, closing his eyes for a second in a vain attempt to still his pounding head. "I'll tell you later, but it's not relevant now. What you need to know is that in my second year, Ginny opened the Chamber of Secrets. Several people were Petrified, but no one actually died. Then, at the end of the year, Riddle—Voldemort, when he was sixteen—took her down to the Chamber and left a note on the wall saying her body would lie there forever."

One of the Black brothers cursed under his breath, though Harry wasn't sure who. He hadn't been watching.

"None of the professors knew where the Chamber was. No one knew, except for Ron and me."

"Ron Weasley?" Sirius interjected.

"Yeah," Harry said, smiling fondly at the memory. "We were best mates, and Gryffindor to the core, so naturally we rushed right into danger to save Ginny. I was the only one who could open the Chamber anyway, since I'm a Parselmouth, and…"

"A Parselmouth?" Regulus interjected skeptically.

"A gift from Voldemort when he tried to kill me," Harry explained quickly, praying that he'd get through his explanation before he became too dizzy. Already the room was blurring unnaturally as the headache escalated to before unreached levels of pain. "I rescued Ginny and destroyed the diary. So naturally it was a shock to me to find that she had been thrown in Azkaban in this reality. I couldn't just leave her there—it wouldn't have been right."

"Damn right, you wouldn't have just left me there," Ginny muttered.

"In my fourth year, Voldemort was resurrected. The Order of the Phoenix was re-formed by Dumbledore, and in my fifth year Sirius was killed in a battle at the Ministry of Magic. Last year, Dumbledore died at the hand of one of his own Hogwarts professors. So yes, I was laying in bed at the home of my Muggle relatives on the first night of summer and wishing that I had _someone_ left in my life to look up to."

There was a short silence, before Sirius said, "How can we know for sure you're telling the truth?"

_Stupid, stubborn __Gryffindors_ Something in Harry seemed to snap, and he rounded on his godfather. "I'll tell you how you can know for sure. The Horcruxes? Lupin learned about them from _me, _because Dumbledore told me all about his theories last school year. No one would have gotten the diary had it not been for _me_, opening the Chamber of Secrets to retrieve it, since Ginny left it there before Lucius Malfoy dragged her off to Azkaban…"

"Lucius Malfoy did _what_?" Ginny cried.

Harry ignored her, looking his godfather straight in the eye. "I promise you, Sirius, I'm not lying. I'll bet you a thousand galleons I could tell you things that I wouldn't have known had I not been from a different reality."

Sirius met his gaze for a long moment, then nodded stiffly. Harry felt immense relief flooding his body. All he wanted to do was take a hot bath, eat something decent for a change, and sink into bed…. Scratch that. All he wanted to do was fall into bed and sleep, blissful, Dementor-less sleep without nightmares or awful memories plaguing him through the night…

But he still had one more person to address. He turned to the red-haired girl on the sofa behind him. "Gin…"

But she was instantly out of her chair and at his side, tugging gently on his sleeve. "I think I understand, Harry, but that's not important now. Sit down now, you look like hell."

"Thanks a lot!" But he allowed her to guide him back to the couch where he fell gratefully against the soft cushions.

"It's true," Regulus said suddenly. "You need to rest…"

"No," Sirius interjected cooly. "Not until I know the whole story. Starting from the beginning."

Regulus protested, but Harry nodded tiredly. "I owe it to you," he admitted, looking down. "I'm sorry for not telling you the truth—I didn't think you or anyone for that matter would believe me."

"You could have at least tried, Harry," Sirius reprimanded.

Harry laughed harshly. "And have you lot lock me up in St. Mungo's for the school year? I don't think so. Hand me another Strengthening Solution."

Despite Regulus's cautions, Sirius handed the flask over.

"And one for me," Ginny piped up.

"But…" Harry began, but Ginny shot him a glare that told him clearly what she thought of being sent to bed to rest at a moment like this. Without another word, she'd swiped the flask out of his hand and drained it.

"Now you'll have to get another one for yourself," she said smugly.

Harry thought that maybe Regulus actually cracked a smile as he fetched another potion. It was a good thing there were a lot on store. Sirius pulled up two chairs for himself and his brother, and with a deep breath, Harry began his story.

It was another hour before Sirius was finally satisfied. Harry had told him practically everything he could think of about the original reality, then answered dozens of questions regarding Horcruxes, Voldemort, the Prophecy, and loyalties of specific parties. The only thing that had kept him going was Ginny, warm and encouraging at his side as she occasionally interjected her own versions of Harry's stories. Lupin spoke too, once in a while, but he still looked like he was in shock from the earth-shattering news and remained silent most of the time.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Sirius leaned back and nodded, satisfied.

Harry let out his breath in relief, suppressing a yawn as he slid down a little into the sofa. Ginny gave a little sigh and rested her head on his shoulder. He knew she too was tired. Most likely the potion would be wearing off soon for both of them…

"Bedtime, I think," Sirius decided, looking over the two exhausted teens. "Harry, there's extra of the potion on the table here, if you think you need a little more. There's a shower upstairs you can use, and I've made up the bed in your room…" He paused, gave a shaky laugh, then said, "I forgot. You've never slept there before, have you? Well, here you've got your own room. Second floor, third on the right. It's next to Ginny's, but I probably shouldn't have told you that…"

"Sirius, you're rambling," Harry reminded him, managing a small smile, despite his now colossal migraine. Next to him, Ginny giggled softly into his shoulder.

"Right." His godfather looked a little embarrassed.

There came a loud tapping noise from the kitchen. Regulus looked at his pocket watch, then sighed. "It's the Daily Prophet. They deliver at 6:00 sharp." He rose and left the room.

"Anyways," Sirius continued. "If there's anything I can get you…"

At that moment, Harry's stomach gave a particularly loud growl. "Food?" Harry asked hopefully.

Sirius laughed, an honest, heart-felt laugh this time. "We've got leftovers, but nothing spectacular. Neither of us are good cooks, really. We live on sandwiches, soda, and chips, mainly."

"I'm hungry enough to eat a hippogriff," Harry confessed.

"Well, then, we'll have to fix that problem," Sirius said kindly, rising from his chair.

"We've got bigger problems than Harry's stomach," Regulus suddenly boomed from the doorway. He strode into the room, his face grim. There were lines around his eyes Harry was sure hadn't been there a minute before, and his mouth was tight.

"What is it?"

In reply to Sirius's inquiry, Regulus held up the Daily Prophet. Harry strained his eyes to see, but when he caught a glance of the cover story, his heart plummeted into his stomach.

"Good Merlin," Ginny whispered, her face deathly pale.

The cover was almost completely taken up with three pictures. The first, was a large print of a first-year Ginny, her hair falling messily into her face, her eyes wide and frightened. The photograph must have been taken before she was taken to Azkaban, but after she'd been discovered opening the chamber. The second picture was of Sirius, wearing dress robes and smiling charmingly. It looked as if someone else had been cut out of the print, because Sirius's arm seemed to be thrown around the unseen person. But the third print was like a punch in the stomach to Harry. It was a picture of himself, dressed in his Quidditch uniform and cradling his broom. Maybe it'd been taken after Gryffindor had won a particularly noteworthy match….

The pictures took up almost all of the room on the front page, but not quite all. There was still room for the large, blazing headline that ran right above the pictures. The words scrolled slowly across the page, and Harry had to look for a moment before he caught the entire headline: _BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN--SIRIUS BLACK AND HARRY POTTER WANTED FOR CONSPIRING AND SUCCEEDING IN __FREEING MURDERER GINEVRA WEASLEY. REWARD: 1 MILLION GALLEONS._

_**Author's Note: **_See, I promised I wouldn't abandon this story, and I haven't! Hope you all enjoy. Please review!

This chapter was fun to right, though near the end, I was getting sleepier and sleepier, and it was even easier to write Harry becoming more and more tired because that was the way I was feeling myself. Now, if only I had my own personal Strengthening Solution to get me through the late nights…. Ah well, that's what coffee is for, is it not?


	5. Recovery

When Harry woke, he wasn't sure where he was. He blinked a little, trying to clear his vision. The last he knew, Regulus had come bursting into the room with the news that the Aurors were looking for him and Sirius and Ginny and they must leave at once, for if Harry's parents were subjected to Veritiserum (they were sure to be questioned), James might give away the location of Grimmauld Place without meaning to.

A bright light was shining into Harry's eyes, but when he found his glasses and shoved them onto his nose, he realised that it wasn't the light of sunrise through the dirty windows, but rather sunset. How long had he slept, anyway?

He gingerly tested his strength, slipping off of the bed, not failing to notice that he was still in his filthy Azkaban clothes. He had been lying on top of a blanket-covered mattress, and as he looked around, he saw that the room was bare of any furniture save for a full length mirror and a single chair over which a clean set of clothes had been draped, along with a glass of water perched precariously on the edge of the seat.

Gratefully, Harry reached for the glass, then noticed that his wand was sitting on the chair, along with McNair's wand. He took his own wand, relishing the feeling of the warm wood beneath his fingers. Harry hesitated for only a moment before conjuring up a bowl of water and a rag. The simple act made him instantly tired, but he forced himself to stay focused as he bathed and changed. What he really craved was a hot shower, but the cobwebs in every corner made him skeptical of finding running water, much less a functional loo, in this place that looked as if it'd been deserted for years.

Harry pocketed both wands, then cautiously pushed open the creaky door and stepped into the dark, high-ceilinged hallway. Portraits lined the hall, but they were hidden by heavy velvet drapes, brown with layers of accumulated dust and dirt. At the end of the hall, Harry found himself in a large sitting room. Several pieces of covered furniture were arranged around a fireplace in which crackling flames burned brightly, looking oddly out of place in the dismal surroundings. A large painting hung above a dusty but ornate table sitting against the wall, and Harry paused to look up at its inhabitants—a tall, somber couple with black hair, stately clothes, and strangely familiar faces.

He passed by the painting, entering another hallway through a low door. From the room at the end, he heard murmuring voices, and his anticipation grew as he pushed open the door.

"Harry!" Ginny cried delightedly, looking up from her place by a roaring fire. Harry slowly shut the door behind him and looked around. He was in a rather large kitchen, hosting a whole number of appliances along with a huge wooden table surrounded by high-backed chairs. Another couple chairs were pulled up around the fireplace, as well as several large beanbags. Ginny was seated on the one closest to the fire, holding a steaming bowl of soup in her hands, though she set the bowl down quickly at the sight of Harry and scrambled to her feet.

Sirius looked up from his newspaper, and the frown instantly was replaced with a smile. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better. You scared us when you blacked out at Grimmauld Place this morning. How'd you sleep?"

"Alright, I guess," Harry replied with difficulty, seeing that Ginny had him in a bear hug and seemed to be trying to squeeze all the air out of his lungs. "Where are we?" he asked when she finally let go of him.

Sirius's eyebrows shot up. "You don't know?"

Harry shook his head, and complied as Ginny tugged him over to the fire. "I'll get you some soup," she said.

"This is your grandparents' old house," Sirius told Harry as Ginny headed toward the stove. "It's been empty ever since they were killed by Voldemort. I suppose your father couldn't bear to live here, but he couldn't bear to sell it either."

"This belongs to the _Potters_?" Harry exclaimed, looking around. The run-down condition didn't deceive him; once, this had been a magnificent mansion.

"Don't look so surprised, Harry. Your father's fortune is one of the largest in Britain."

Harry knew there were a lot of Galleons in his family's vault at Gringotts, but not _that_ many. He shook his head incredulously. "I sure wish I'd known that before… Can you imagine what Malfoy would have done if he knew I was practically as rich as he was?"

He directed this last question to Ginny, who had returned holding another bowl of soup. She snorted. "He'd probably have wet himself."

Harry took a long draught of the soup, relishing the hot broth as it warmed his insides. He then turned back to Sirius. "But that doesn't explain why we're here."

Sirius shrugged. "Where else were we supposed to go? Grimmauld Place was in danger of discovery; Remus's house was out of the question because of your role as Secret-keeper; and obviously we couldn't go to your home, or Ginny's. Hogwarts wasn't even safe. In desperation, I recommended this place, simply because no one would think to look for us here. It's not ideal, but it'll provide shelter while we decide what to do next."

"Next?"

Ginny stared into the fireplace. "I can't go to Hogwarts, obviously," she said bitterly. "And you can't either, since we're both on the Ministry's top wanted lists, along with Sirius."

"So what do you think we should do, Harry, seeing that the four of us suddenly have so much time on our hands?" Sirius asked.

That was easy. "Hunt Horcruxes?"

Sirius nodded. "Exactly. The Order can concentrate on more important things while we focus on pulling Voldemort down. Then maybe we can all band together and make a final attack before he grows any stronger."

It sounded so odd, planning the demise of the Dark Lord, when for several years now, Harry had thought of it as his job alone. He found, now, that strangely he didn't want to share the task. He wanted to be the one to finish off the bastard, and he didn't want help. But this was not the time to be thinking that far ahead.

"Where's Regulus?" Harry said, suddenly wondering what the younger Black brother was up to. "And Remus too?"

"Remus went to go make some strategically planned appearances," Sirius said, crumpling up the paper and throwing it into the fire, even though Harry was sure his godfather had seen him reaching for it. As the paper burned, he caught a glance of himself on the cover right beneath the words, _HARRY POTTER: OUT OF HIS MIND, OR WORKING FOR YOU-KNOW-WHO?_ He figured that this was why Sirius hadn't wanted him to see the paper, but honestly, Harry didn't care anymore. They could think of him what they wanted. He suddenly realised that Sirius was still talking. "If Remus disappears along with the three of us, everyone will believe he too was involved with the breakout. Regulus is out gathering information for us."

"But he might be seen!"

Sirius chuckled. "He won't be seen. And now that the risk for him is less than you or I, it's only logical that he be the one to go out. Did I mention that he's also an Animagus?"

Harry gave a noise of surprised approval. "That will certainly come in handy."

"Especially since your form was discovered," Sirius said, gesturing towards the remains of the Daily Prophet in the fire. "Harry Potter, illegal Animagus. The Marauders are proud of you."

"About that," Harry began, meaning to give Sirius the whole story behind his discovery in Azkaban, but Ginny cut in first.

"Please, _please,_ Sirius, won't you teach me to be an Animagus?" she pleaded, clasping her hands together.

Sirius didn't look convinced. "You need a few months to recover from Azkaban," he stalled. "And besides, it's really difficult to learn…"

"If Harry did it, I can do it. And I don't need a couple months to get over Azkaban, I'm _fine,_" Ginny insisted angrily. "And besides that, I…"

She was interrupted by the clattering of the door. A second later, Regulus entered, carrying several papers and a bag of what Harry hoped was food, and lots of it. He nodded curtly at Harry and Ginny before turning to the counter to set the bags down.

"What news?" Sirius said, rising quickly.

"Nothing new," Regulus replied, tossing his brother one of the papers. "Except that both the Potters and the Weasleys have been taken in for questioning. Of course they don't know anything."

"They won't…they wouldn't question Leila, would they?" Harry asked hesitantly, his soup suddenly balling up in his stomach. If she were questioned under Veritiserum, she could condemn herself. He had a flash of pictures of his own sister, thinner even than Ginny, curled up in a cold cell in Azkaban, with the Dementors coming near to torment her whenever they liked…

"No," Regulus said shortly, and Harry could breathe again. "No, she's underage. They'd hassle her a bit, but they wouldn't use Truth Potion." He looked back at Sirius. "Did you tell him?"

Harry frowned. "Tell me what?"

"That they know of your Animagus form," Sirius replied. "I just don't understand how they could have known it was you, when you were Polyjuiced to look like Ginny…"

The knot of guilt appear in his stomach again. "It's my fault," he said hesitantly. "I couldn't wait another day, so I slipped out early. The wards activated when I tried to fly out the window, and then the guards came… I was able to get past some of them in my falcon form, but when I had to revert back to human form to duel, the Polyjuice ran out…"

He swallowed guiltily. "I'm sorry, Sirius, it's my fault…if I'd been more careful, they wouldn't have seen me, and you wouldn't have been found out either… If I'd only waited another day…"

Regulus was looking at him oddly. "Thank Merlin you didn't wait another day," he said. "I thought you escaped early _because_you knew that on the first of the month, they always bring prisoners in from all parts of Britain… The prison is overrun with guards all night long and all day. You wouldn't have escaped alive if you'd waited another night."

Harry stared at him. "Then maybe I should have waited two days…"

"Another two days, and you might not have had the strength to escape, and _then _fly and Apparate back... You did the right thing, Harry."

"But Sirius…"

"I for one will probably thank you one day for getting caught," Sirius said casually, and Harry turned to stare at him. His godfather shrugged nonchalantly. "My life was so mundane and boring, Harry. I worked at the Ministry for ten sodding years, and hated every minute it. Granted, this isn't what I expected when I wished for a more exciting life, but running from the law is definitely preferable to sitting at a desk, don't you think?"

Harry shook his head. "You're mad."

"It runs in the family," Sirius sighed. "Have you ever met my cousin Bellatrix?"

"Unfortunately, we both have," Ginny piped up.

"Ah, yes, the Ministry battle," Sirius said, frowning. "I can't believe she killed me with a _Stunner_, of all spells! Just because I was stupid enough to stop and taunt her."

"Yes, well, try not to let it happen again," Harry said levelly.

Sirius jerked around, an angry retort on his lips, but then he caught the irony and laughed. "Definitely not." He studied Harry for a moment, then said, "We need to come up with a Marauder name for you, now that you're one of us."

"A Marauder name?"

"You know, like I'm Padfoot, and James is Prongs. You could be…"

"Tweety," Ginny suggested slyly.

Harry threw a spare pillow at her. "When did _you_ watch _Bugs Bunny_?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "You know my dad, Harry. He loves old Muggle TV sets. Once, he got one to work, even with all the magical interference."

"Tweety," Sirius tested, then grinned. "I like it."

Harry groaned. "Please, no. The last thing I want to be named after is a tiny yellow bird. I'm a falcon. I soar, and hunt, and dive…"

"And I'm sure you can make some cute bird-sounding noises too, Harry." That was Ginny, and he rewarded her with glare.

"Swiftwing?"

Surprisingly enough, this suggestion came from Regulus. Harry considered this. If anything, it was better than "Tweety."

They discussed names for a while, as Harry finished his soup and then drank some herbal tea that Regulus gave him. The fire was burning down and he was getting drowsy, but they hadn't yet reached a decision on what to dub him.

"We can finish this discussion later," Regulus said, and Harry realised with a start that he'd been dozing. Ginny laughed softly as he jerked his head back up, blinking like an owl.

"We're staying here tonight?" Harry said, voicing his thoughts although his brain felt slow and heavy right now. "What if someone guesses we're here?"

"Regulus here put up some wards. They're not the best, but they're enough to give us enough warning if anyone shows up that we'll be able to get out of here before they can do any damage," Sirius reassured him.

"But what about plans?"

"We can discuss that tomorrow as well," Regulus said. "Right now, you need to rest."

"But what about our parents?"

Sirius's shoulders tensed, and Harry knew that he'd happened across the "elephant" in the room. Ginny looked anxiously from one Black brother to the other, and Regulus refused to look at anyone.

"They need to know the truth from us," Harry said firmly.

"And they will," Sirius replied quickly, shifting from foot to foot. "But for now, Harry, it's best if we leave them in the dark. The Aurors, and the investigation…"

"But surely there's a way…"

"Enough. Off to bed, Harry, you can hardly stand as it is," Regulus cut in. "You too, young lady."

To the noise of Ginny's protests, Harry allowed Sirius to guide him toward the door, as he _was_ rather unstable on his feet. Why were they avoiding the subject, though? Was there something they were keeping from him? He resolved to discover the truth tomorrow, but tonight he was too exhausted. The Dementors had completely drained his energy, and he was worried that it'd take more than just a few days to regain all his strength. They needed to get on with things. The sooner they found the rest of the Horcruxes, the sooner Voldemort could be defeated, and the sooner they could prove Ginny's innocence…

With a start, he realised that Ginny had never met her family from this world. They were all so different. It'd been one thing for him to meet a family he'd never had, but for her to suddenly not even know her own parents and siblings would be really tough. In fact, she probably didn't know yet that Charlie was…dead…

Harry didn't want to be the one to break the news.

When he reached his room, he didn't even have the energy to undress before falling into bed. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

* * *

In the middle of the night, Harry woke, breathing hard and covered in a light sheen of sweat. He slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. It'd been months since he'd had his old nightmares of the graveyard, of Sirius falling through the veil, and of Dumbledore's lifeless body tumbling like a rag doll off the tallest tower. The Dementors must have helped some of the memories resurface. 

But there was no reason to have nightmares now, Harry told himself firmly. Sirius was alive. Cedric was alive. Only Dumbledore was dead in this world, and that couldn't be helped. The Headmaster's death had been the one Harry'd felt least guilty for, though it had been on the whole even more painful than Sirius's.

It took a few minutes to get himself calmed down. The nightmares, at least, were preferable to the searing pain and horrible visions from his scar. Nightmares he could deal with, but the connection he'd had with Voldemort in the other world was the one thing he was quite happy to live without.

He slid back down until his head reached the pillow. The thin sliver of moon shone through the windows and made strange patterns on the walls and floor. Harry's eyelids grew heavy, and he was almost asleep again when he heard a soft knock on the door. A moment later, he heard the door sliding open, and he reached for his glasses.

Ginny stood in the doorway, looking very small and pale against the dark hall behind her. Her blanket was wrapped tightly around her shoulders, and the pale moonlight reflected off of her tear-stained face.

"Ginny, what's wrong?" Harry said groggily, sitting up quickly.

She hovered by the door, twisting her hands nervously. "I had…a nightmare... It was about Azkaban." Her voice shook violently, and Harry motioned her closer. A second later, she had crossed the room and was sobbing on his shoulder. Suddenly it felt as if there was not a single other person in the entire world save for the frail red-headed girl in his arms. Once again, they were first and second years in the Chamber of Secrets, covered in blood and dirt, and he was doing his best to comfort her as she cried, the dead basilisk in the background, the diary sitting forgotten on the stones, and the sword of Gryffindor and the Sorting Hat lying next to him.

He'd never been really good with crying girls. He'd always liked Ginny because she was strong, because she _didn't_ cry, but none of that mattered right now. She needed him.

"It'll be OK," Harry said awkwardly. "I promise, it'll be OK."

Her violent sobs ceased, though her shoulders were still shaking. He pulled her closer to him, and she rested her head on his shoulder. "Regulus wouldn't let me have Dreamless Sleep Potion," she finally said in a small voice. "He's afraid I'll get addicted to it…"

Harry closed his eyes. He didn't need to ask what her dreams would be about. He tentatively reached up and began to stroke her hair. It seemed like the right thing to do, and with a little sigh, she collapsed against him. "I was back _there. _With _him._"

He knew which "him" she was dreaming about. "I know, Gin. I know. But it's all past, now."

"I know," she sighed, pulling away a little and wiping her eyes. "I know that, Harry. You must think me so childish…"

"Not at all," he said hastily. He of all people knew what it was like to have nightmares. "Are you OK? Will you be alright?"

Ginny stared at her lap. "I…I can't sleep in that room, all alone in the dark…" She trailed off, then raised pleading eyes to meet his. "Harry? Can I stay here with you? Please"

Harry wasn't quite sure what she meant—his mind seemed to be working slower than normal. "There's only one bed," he said.

"It's big enough for two," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "Please? I can't go back there, I know I'll have that nightmare again… But if you really don't want me to…"

He tried not to think of the things that could be implied by both of them sleeping in the same bed. _Ginny.__ Focus on Ginny right now._ "Sure," he said. "Uh, get in."

"Thanks," she said, her voice beginning to tremble again. He gallantly handed her his pillow before scooting over to the other side and pulling the blanket over both of them.

Harry lay on the mattress, feeling extremely uncomfortable. He wasn't sure what to do—should he reach out and take her hand or touch her shoulder? Or would that make her uncomfortable? They were technically in a bed together, and that alone could make any girl nervous and any bloke horny. Finally he decided not to do anything. The one thing he didn't want was to scare her off.

He listened to her breathing as it became more and more even, and just as he was sure she'd finally drifted off, she spoke. "Harry? Are you still awake?"

"Yeah."

There was a long pause before she said, "Tell me about my family. Are they different?"

The very subject he'd been hoping to avoid. He couldn't exactly deny her the information, though. "They're different," he confessed, staring at the ceiling where moonbeams danced, reflected off of the large full-length mirror on the opposite wall. "Your mum and dad have been through a lot, with your imprisonment and all. They're not quite so optimistic anymore. Your brothers are more serious, even the twins. Percy never rejected the family, though, that's a plus, right?"

"I bet they all feel responsible," she said softly.

"Ron's pretty much the same," he told her, trying to pull the conversation back to lighter topics. "Still the same prat. We weren't good friends, Leila says."

"Leila?"

"My younger sister."

Ginny made a little surprised noise in the back of her throat, then said, "What else about Ron?"

"He's best friends with Seamus. He dated Cho Chang last year…"

"_Cho_?" Ginny interjected incredulously.

"…and she supposedly dumped him because she liked me better."

At first, Harry thought that Ginny was crying again, from the shaking coming from the other side of the bed, but then he realised that she was trying to contain fits of giggles. "Ron? And _Cho_?" she gasped finally. "Oh, I'd have liked to see that."

"He tried to punch me at my birthday party last summer for 'dumping' her," Harry said fondly.

"And you didn't even know you were dating her. How funny."

"He needs Hermione around to tone him down," Harry said wistfully, wondering where she was.

"Hermione's not at Hogwarts?"

He sighed. "Voldemort and the Ministry made anti-Muggleborn laws years ago which prevented her from coming to Hogwarts."

Ginny was silent for a moment. "I guess Colin and Dennis and Justin wouldn't have been there either, huh? Or Dean."

He wondered if she'd miss Dean a lot. She _had_ dated the bloke for quite some time…

"What about Bill and Charlie, Harry?" Ginny said, and Harry felt a knot growing in his stomach. He'd been hoping she'd forget…

"Bill's good, he's dating this witch named Kiara," he said carefully. "She's an Auror; you'd like her, I think."

"Oh, thank goodness he's not dating Fleur!" Ginny exclaimed with a sigh of relief. "I never liked her, I don't care what Mum said…"

"Fleur's dead," Harry blurted out, and Ginny stopped mid-sentence.

"Oh."

There was a long silence. Then, "What about Charlie?"

He didn't reply. He _couldn't_ reply.

She pushed herself up on one elbow. "Harry, what happened to Charlie?"

When he didn't say anything, she drew in a quick breath. "Oh god…oh god, no… He's not…"

She couldn't finish the sentence. Harry shut his eyes tightly, not wanting her to find out, though knowing he couldn't keep the truth from her any longer…

"I'm sorry, Gin…"

She was sobbing again. "Not Charlie," she whispered, and Harry felt a physical stab of pain in his chest. He knew what it was like to lose a family member, but he'd only known Sirius for a couple of years, and she'd known Charlie all her life. He remembered that aside from the twins who had always taken it as their personal job to look after her, she'd been closest to Charlie, who had spoiled her when she was young. He'd been the one to first help her fly a broom, and he'd been the one to suggest sneaking out to the shed at night to ride her older brothers' brooms. He'd taught her how to catch a Snitch and perform complicated Quidditch maneuvers. He'd been her favorite brother of them all.

Harry could stand it no longer. Slowly, he scooted over closer and tentatively reached an arm out to her. She melted into his arms, moving toward him and burying her head onto his shoulder. He could feel her tears soaking through the sleeve of his t-shirt, but he didn't mind at all. Carefully, he gathered her into his arms and just held her as she cried. "'s OK," he murmured. "It'll be OK."

Slowly, his drowsiness returned until he was blinking to stay awake. Ginny's sobs subsided into sniffles, but she didn't move away. It was relaxing, and oddly comforting for him to have her there, her chest rising and falling with every breath, her head buried on his shoulder. The moonlight was dancing again, shining off of her red hair, and his last coherent thought was that Ginny must be the prettiest girl in the world, especially in the moonlight…

_to be continued..._


	6. Seer

When he woke, the first thing he was keenly aware of was the girl in his arms. A girl, he realised, squinting at the blur next to him, who had red hair and freckles.

It took Harry a moment to remember where he was and what exactly had happened the night before. The morning sun was streaming through the windows, and he began to wonder exactly how long they'd slept. What if Sirius or Regulas came to call him to breakfast? What would they think, or worse, say? The situation, although completely innocent, could quickly be blown out of proportion. 

The thought struck him unexpectedly that if he had his way, he'd like to lay like this for hours and hours, just holding Ginny in his arms. Somehow in the course of the night, her head had come to rest on his shoulder and her hair was softly framing her face. She looked so peaceful, as if she hadn't a care in the world. He hated to think of the lines that would return when she woke, and even worse, how he'd been the cause of most of the cares that had caused the lines. 

Regretfully, Harry gently slid his shoulder out from under her head and replaced it with a pillow. She shifted a little, but didn't wake. 

Harry grabbed his wand and a change of clothes (Sirius must have had the good sense to grab some necessities before the hasty departure from Grimmauld Place) and quietly slipped out of the room. 

Sirius was in the kitchen, stirring a mug of dark brown liquid. "Morning," he called. "Want some coffee?" 

"No thanks," said Harry, who had never really developed a taste for the stuff. "Is there a shower around here?" 

"I think Regulus rigged one up down the hall from your room. His spells weren't the greatest—the pressure really sucks—but it's something, at least. And the temperature's adjustable." 

"Is he here?" 

"Nope." 

Harry turned to leave, but Sirius said, "Is Ginny up?" 

"I don't think so," Harry replied quickly. "I haven't seen her. If I were you, I'd let her sleep, though. She's not a morning person, and she's got a temper when she's woken." 

"I'll keep that in mind," Sirius said, not looking affronted at all. "She can't be any worse than Lily, though. That woman was a hag in the mornings during our school days." 

Harry raised his eyebrows. So _that_ was where Leila had gotten that particular trait from. 

"Anyway, I won't keep you from your shower," Sirius said, waving Harry away. "Merlin knows you need one. I can smell you all the way from here." 

Harry scowled, but let the comment go. "Knock on Ginny's door for me after you shower, will you?" called Sirius as Harry headed down the hall. "Regulus will be back soon, and we've got loads of stuff to discuss." 

_Perfect_, thought Harry. 

The shower felt marvelous; vaguely, he realised it'd been nearly a week since his last one, though he had gotten cleaned up the previous morning with a bowl of water and a towel. The pressure was even worse than Sirius had described it, but the hot water seemed to wash away all the revulsion and filth of Azkaban. How Ginny had survived for two months was beyond him. 

After he'd dried himself off and slipped into the clean set of clothes, he dried his hair with a charm and tried to comb it. Not that it did any good. Mrs. Weasley had always fretted and called his hair 'a worthless cause.' Back in his room, he threw the dirty clothes in a pile in the corner, then stopped to study Ginny. He'd never woken up a girl before. How was a bloke supposed to go about it? Say her name? Shake her? Had it been Ron, he'd have pushed him out of bed or pelted him with pillows or simply shouted. 

Finally, Harry lightly shook her shoulder. "Ginny. Ginny?" 

She didn't stir. 

Bloody hell, she was just as heavy a sleeper as her older brother. Scratch that, _brothers_, plural. Harry knew from personal experience how hard it was to get Ron and especially the twins up for early Quidditch games. 

He tried again, saying her name a little louder. "Ginny. Ginny…Ginny…wake up… GINNY!" 

At last, she shifted a little. "Go 'way," she muttered, burrowing herself deeper into the blankets. 

Harry sighed exasperatedly. "Fine, just stay there and wait till Sirius or Regulus finds you in _my_ bed." 

That seemed to work. "Bloody hell," she said, sitting up and looking at him with wide eyes. "How long did I sleep?" 

"Long enough," said Harry. "Now get out of here before someone shows up." 

She quickly slipped out of the bed and shoved her feet into her slippers. At the door, however, she paused. "Thanks, Harry," she said softly, and he grinned lopsidedly. 

"Anytime," he said, meaning it. 

* * *

By the time Ginny had showered and dressed, Regulus had arrived back with bags of supplies and a _Daily Prophet_ which Sirius once again "accidently" burned before Harry could have a look. Harry and Ginny situated themselves around the fire (even though it was only September, the house was drafty and cold) holding plates of eggs and bacon Harry had fixed. Regulus dipped himself some of the leftovers and joined the circle. 

"So," said Sirius. "So." 

His one word was loaded with questions no one was willing to ask. _What are we going to do now?_ _Stay here holed up in this sad excuse for a mansion forever? Wait until the Ministry looses interest? _

"I guess we need a plan." 

Across the room, Ginny was watching Sirius with wide eyes. Regulus was staring at the floor, arms crossed over his chest. 

Harry wondered whether Sirius was considering leaving the country. Things would definitely be better for all of them in a place where they weren't known as the Ministry's most wanted criminals. They could rent a flat. Sirius and Regulus could get jobs. Harry and Ginny could, perhaps, attend a Wizarding school. But the thought of leaving his newly-discovered family behind was too much. 

It was true that their options were limited, but Harry knew he'd never feel right if they just picked up and left Britain to deal with Voldemort on their own. He felt the old familiar burden of responsibility, even though he knew that the Prophecy had never been made here. It wasn't his _job_ to defeat Voldemort, but if he took that belief to the point where he made no effort at all to help, he'd live with the guilt of his actions for the rest of his life. 

Regulus cleared his throat. "The most logical plan is to run," he said. "Find a place where we can wait out the war without discovery. We certainly can't stay here forever. The Ministry will guess sooner or later." 

Ginny shivered. 

Sirius looked reluctant. "It's a good idea," he said, but his heart wasn't in it. 

"We can't just do _nothing_, though," Ginny said in a tiny voice. "We'd all go crazy." 

"But we'd be safe." 

"Safe is no fun…" Ginny began indignantly. 

"But what else are we to do?" Sirius argued. 

"I'd have thought it to be obvious," said Harry after a pause. "We've got to find the last Horcruxes ourselves." 

There was a long period of silence. Ginny was nodding, though Sirius was shaking his head; Regulus looked thoughtful. 

"Think about it," continued Harry quickly. "We could keep to the shadows, but still help the Order in any way we can. We could do their dirty work for them. Horcrux hunting. Secret missions. Two of us are Animagi." 

"Three," corrected Sirius. 

Harry stared at Ginny. "It's not me," she protested; both of them turned accusing eyes on Regulus. 

"He told me to keep it a secret," Regulus defended, pointing at Sirius. 

"What form do you take?" 

He looked disgruntled. "Snake." 

Ginny whistled. "I read somewhere that it's really hard to turn into reptiles," she said, looking impressed. 

"Can you talk to other snakes when you're in your form?" asked Harry, curious as to whether he'd be able to communicate with Regulus in Parseltongue." 

"Never tried." 

"Now you lot absolutely _have_ to teach me how to be an Animagus," said Ginny, folding her arms stubbornly across her chest. 

"Can we get back to the subject?" Sirius called, irritated. 

The teens meekly nodded. Regulus simply scowled again—something it seemed he was quite good at. 

"As for Harry's suggestion," Sirius said, "the answer is absolutely not." 

"Why?" Ginny whined. 

"I've got to keep you both safe," Harry's godfather said. "Lily and James are certain to kill me already when I see them next for involving their only son in a plan to break you," he pointed at Ginny, "out of Azkaban." 

"I'll tell them I came up with it," began Harry, but Sirius silenced him with a wave of a hand. 

"And when they kill me, it will be ten times more painful and drawn out if I can't present you," he pointed at Harry, "back to them alive and well," he said, glaring at both teens. "My main priority is to keep you two out of harm's way until things calm down around here." 

"Which will be when? Never," Harry said harshly. "Things will never be safe for us until Voldemort is defeated and we can officially prove Ginny's innocence. So it would be in our best interest to see his downfall as soon as possible, correct?" 

"Yes, but…" 

"I'm sorry if my agenda is a little different than yours," said Harry coldly. "But I don't exactly plan on hiding out for the next fifteen years while the Order takes their time destroying the last Horcruxes and planning a way to get Voldemort. The prophecy in my world says it's got to be me, and alternate universe or not, I'm still going to be the one to do it." 

"You can't possibly…" 

"You think I'm not capable of defeating the Dark Lord?" Harry challenged. "Perhaps not. But I've got to try. So if you lot want to go hide, fine by me, I'll just pack my stuff and leave now…" 

He had risen to his feet. 

"Harry…" 

"If he leaves, I'm going too," Ginny said stubbornly, jumping to her feet as well. 

Sirius looked abashed. "You can't be serious." 

Harry glanced over at Ginny. "Let's go pack." 

They were halfway to the door before Sirius shouted, "Wait!" Slowly, Harry turned. His godfather's shoulders were slumped in resignation. "Fine," he said. "Fine. We'll look for Horcruxes. We'll help the Order. Just sit back down, for Merlin's sake!" 

Ginny grinned widely at Harry and gave him a high-five before they trouped back over to the chairs. Inwardly, Harry wondered how far he and Ginny would have actually gotten, had not Sirius changed his mind. 

He realised, a moment later, that Regulus was shaking—literally—in silent laughter. Sirius sent a venomous glare at his brother. "It's not funny!" 

"He's exactly like you," Regulus said, coming closer to smiling than Harry'd ever seen. "Exactly like you, stomping out of our house at age fifteen like a bloody prig, refusing to live with a stuck up Pureblood family any more." 

There was a long pause before Sirius slumped resignedly back into his chair. "Did not…" 

"So," said Harry quickly, settling back into his seat. "Which Horcrux are we going after first?" 

* * *

They decided to wait for a time before rushing into Muggle London to search the orphanage where Riddle had gone to school. They would need to get a copy of the building plans, as well as a map of the surrounding buildings; they'd also need an adequate cover. 

"We can't go trouping in all four of us," said Sirius. "If we were discovered by the Ministry, they'd get all of us. Best to split up." 

Harry agreed. They could get more done in groups of two rather than four, though Regulus felt that they had safety in numbers. But he also didn't want Ginny coming along at all. 

"Posh!" she exclaimed angrily when he mentioned her staying home. "I'm not staying here!" 

"You're underage. And you don't even have a wand!" 

"I have two," offered Harry. "She's real good with a wand." 

Honestly, he didn't really want Ginny coming either. She wasn't bad—D.A. had taught her the basic spell knowledge and agility needed for a proper duel, but he still didn't want her fighting real Death Eaters or Aurors any time soon. However, he knew that if he didn't stand up for her, he'd have it coming to him later. 

A moment later, Harry was trouping off to his room to retrieve McNair's wand; Ginny wanted to try it out. He'd protested that the Ministry would immediately find out, but Sirius had interjected that the Ministry wouldn't detect her magic beneath the specific wards he and Regulus had cast—wards to scramble the magical signatures, so the Ministry wouldn't be able to locate the fugitives merely by their spells. 

"Aquamenti," tried Ginny, holding McNair's wand in her hand. Nothing happened. "It doesn't work," she said, looking immensely disappointed. 

"That's odd," said Harry, frowning at the black wand. "It worked fine for me in Azkaban…" 

"That was because you won the wand from him," explained Sirius. 

"Huh?" 

"You took the wand from McNair, didn't you?" Sirius said patiently. Harry nodded. "Then you're the master now, ever if it's not your wand." 

"Oh." Harry gave the wand a wave, half-heartedly muttering, "Wingardium Leviosa," and the empty chair next to him rose instantly into the air, with almost as much ease as if he'd been using his own wand. 

He was hit by a sudden burst of inspiration. "Hey, Gin, try my wand." 

She took it skeptically. "I don't think…" But she still gave it a wave, muttering the spell for water again, and she yelped and jumped back as a stream of water gushed from the end of Harry's wand, soaking the floor and the chair and splattering Sirius in the process. 

Sirius let out a few carefully chosen swear words and Ginny jumped back in surprise as Harry doubled over in laughter. "Not a word," Sirius warned, a threatening note in his voice. 

Harry wisely decided to heed his godfather's command, and instead complimented Ginny on her success. She beamed. "But Harry, I can't take your wand…" 

"Nonsense," said Harry, who was really feeling reluctant to part with the Holly wand that had become like an old friend. But Ginny needed protection too, and if McNair's wand wouldn't work for her, he definitely didn't want her defenseless in a fight. "I can use this other wand just as well. Besides, it's only until we can figure out a way to sneak you into Diagon Alley and buy you a new one." 

Sirius and Regulus exchanged a glance that Harry interpreted that _that_ wouldn't be happening anytime soon. 

"So, it's settled," he said loudly. "We'll split up and use our Animagus forms, and Ginny here can be disillusioned…" 

"Still not safe," argued Sirius. "The Ministry allows Aurors to carry around special charms that allow them to see through any spell disguises." 

Harry frowned. "Then our Animagus forms shouldn't be safe…" 

"I said _spells,"_ Sirius reminded him. "Animagi aren't noticed because your animal form isn't acquired by using a spell, and really, it's just another part of you that everyone else is looking at." 

"Polyjuice?" said Ginny hopefully. 

"No more left," answered Regulus dejectedly. 

Harry stared thoughtfully into the fire, trying to think. How could Ginny get around undetected? They couldn't teach her to become an Animagus in such a short amount of time, and Polyjuice took weeks to boil…it wasn't safe to buy some for fear of being recognized…" 

"I've got it!" she said, her face breaking into a large smile. "Harry, your cloak!" 

"My Invisibility Cloak," Harry echoed, his eyes widening. "Why didn't I think of that before?" 

"It's at Grimmauld Place if you brought it with you to my place," said Sirius grimly. 

"No, it's even worse than that," said Harry, realization dawning. "My cloak isn't at Grimmauld Place—it's at Hogwarts." 

* * *

"Class dismissed," called Professor Sprout, and Leila gratefully shrugged off her smock and put away her things, taking her time so when she began her trek back up to the castle, the path would pretty much be deserted.

The last week had been the worst week of her entire life. The Aurors had showed up on Platform 9 ¾ to take her parents in for questioning as she was just boarding the train. The _Daily Prophet_ had been running scandalous headlines all week—"Famous Chaser James Potter's Son a Criminal" and "Sirius Black Aids Godson in Freeing Murderer Ginevra Weasley—Aurors Continue Search" were just a few of the nicer ones. Oddly enough, each new headline comforted her; at least she knew that Harry was safe—he and Sirius had succeeded in getting Ginny out, even if it meant they were on the run now.

She only wished she knew for sure. 

It would be easier, of course, if she had someone to talk to. She couldn't tell her parents what she knew—they might be questioned under Veritiserum again. The Weasleys were under high surveliance as well. She knew that although she hadn't been questioned, her mail was being watched, and Aurors would most likely tail her if she left the grounds to see if Harry or Sirius made contact. Similar measures were being taken to insure that Ginny made no contact with her family members.

Even the fact that she wasn't entirely the center of attention didn't help. Try as she might, she hadn't succeeded in cornering Ron Weasley who was avoiding the population in general. She wondered what was going through his head. Anger? Relief? Confusion? It must be horribly conflicting to have your worst enemy rescue your younger sister from Azkaban and then practically disappear off the face of the planet.

She had entered the castle, and was walking slowly down a deserted first floor corridor, lost inthought when suddenly a hand reached out from a dark alcove and latched onto her wrist, pulling her into the shadows. She opened her mouth to scream, but a strong hand clamped over her it, and a rich voice said into her ear, "Did you miss me?"

Instantly, her mouth was freed and she spun around. "Theo!" she exclaimed, launching herself at the tall, dark-haired boy who was grinning widely at her.

A moment later a strong pair of arms were encircling her, pulling her tightly into his chest. She closed her eyes, squeezing back the tears as the emotions of the prior week washed over her accompanied with an overwhelming feeling of relief.

"I'm so glad you're here," she murmured into his shirt, and unbidden, a single tear slid down her cheek.

"I missed you," he said, gently freeing himself and looking down at her. "What? Is the invincible Leila Potter crying?"

"Bad week," she said, smiling weakly as he softly brushed the tear away with his thumb as his hand cradled her face. "God, I missed you too."

"Crazy, isn't it?" Theodore said. "I never thought Potter had it in him. Breaking a _Weasley_ out of Azkaban, of all things!"

Leila looked away. "Harry's different."

Theodore paused. "What kind of different?"

She shook her head. "He hasn't gone over to the Dark side like the rumours say, Theo. He's changed, but he hasn't joined _him." _

"Leila, he broke a _murderer_ out of Azkaban!" 

"Do any of us know for sure that she's innocent?" Leila said, keeping her voice neutral. Her frustration was building though—she wished she could climb on the table in the Great Hall and shout the truth to anyone.

"How much did Harry tell you before he left with your godfather?" asked Theodore, watching her reaction carefully.

"Not much," she said evasively. "Just trust me, OK?" 

He nodded, and let the subject go. God, how she appreciated that about him—years of dealing with Slytherins hadn't turned him into a manipulative, insensitive git. "So, how was your summer?"

Theodore's face darkened. "Leila," he said carefully, "there was quite a bit I left out of my letters."

She gulped. "I figured as much," she said quietly, watching him. "What happened?"

He turned slightly to stare at the stone wall. "My father felt that it was time he imparted to me some of his knowledge of…certain Death Eater matters."

"Did…did you take the Mark?" she whispered, not trusting her voice, hoping he hadn't, wondering what she'd do if he had…

He shook his head and rolled up his sleeve on his left arm. "No, I'm still Dark Mark-free," he told her bitterly. "The Dark Lord wouldn't be stupid enough to send a Marked student into Hogwarts, where all the teachers are forever snooping around in everyone's business. But some of the things he showed me—the stories he _laughed_ at…"

"Oh, Theo," she whispered, lightly touching his arm.

He seemed to pull himself together. "Leila, I know that your parents work in some sort of Resistance movement."

"How…"

"You hear things when you live at my house," Theodore said impatiently. "How I heard that isn't important…they aren't in any danger…but Leila, I learned things…things that you need to take to the right people…"

He stopped, his gaze penetrating into her. "If you can get this information to someone who can help, people's _lives_ could be spared."

* * *

A week after arriving at the old Potter Manor, Harry was dying to get out.

Ginny was even worse. "I can't spend another day in this prison!" she shouted at Sirius one Saturday morning as she wildly paced about the room. "I'll _die_ if I have to stay here any longer…"

"Fine words from someone who just spent three months in Azkaban," Sirius said dryly.

She flushed red. "I'm serious!"

"I know you are. But for your sanity, and more importantly, mine, I'm going to have to ask you to stop pacing! We're doing everything we can!"

Ginny reluctantly slumped down into the empty chair. "I want to go with you when you go to Hogsmeade."

Their plan was to sneak into the Wizarding town that day, since it was Hogsmeade weekend, in hopes that they could make contact with Leila and have her help them retrieve the cloak from Harry's trunk. When Ginny had learned that she wouldn't be allowed to go, she had pitched a fit paramount to a five-year-old's temper tantrum.

Sirius threw up his hands in surrender. "She's all yours, Harry."

Harry sighed and turned to his red-headed, hot tempered girlfriend who was currently shooting daggers at him with her eyes. "Ginny," he said soothingly. "I know you want to go, but you can't because you can't turn into a shaggy dog or slithering snake or bird like us. The place will be teeming with Aurors just dying to get their hands on you, and I can't be bothered with having to get you out of Azkaban _again _just when I've finished rescuing you the first time."

Ginny's mouth was open wide enough to trap a small bird. She sputtered nonsensical words as Harry smirked at her. "You…you…you…"

"Ginny, don't be ridiculous," he said. "We're going to Hogsmeade to get the Invisibility Cloak so you _can_ go with us on missions!"

She glared and crossed her arms.

Harry leaned down. "I _promise,_ Ginny, you'll get to go on the very next expedition. And I'll tell you everything, even what your prat of a brother looked like if I happen to see him."

A tiny smile. Harry took it as a proverbial green light. "I'll see you soon, OK?" he said softly. 

"Sure," said Ginny, throwing him an impish grin. "Now, don't you go get caught yourself, or I might have to pull your sorry arse out of a holding cell myself."

* * *

He and Sirius apparated to the edge of Hogsmeade, where Sirius immediately transformed into a dog. Harry quickly poured the bottle of dye over the dog, turning its fur a bright shade of yellow. Padfoot barked and wagged his tail. "Down boy," laughed Harry. "You'll only look like Old Yeller for a few hours, and then you'll be back to normal. Now go sniff Leila out for me."

The dog bounded off, and Harry closed his eyes and concentrated. An instant later, a quick _Specularius _spell showed that he was now several inches shorter sporting light brown hair and a pair of wide blue eyes. A transfiguration spell changed his glasses into square frames that made him look like a Ravenclaw nerd, and another moment of concentration and he was a little stocker. Now no one would ever guess who he was.

He surveyed the town, trying to figure out where his sister would go. He didn't even know if she'd actually come to Hogsmeade or not…if not, his hopes of reaching here would be shattered. Getting inside the castle to retrieve the cloak without her assistance would be much more complicated, even with his knowledge of the secret passageways. 

Where should he check first?

The answer was simple—the Three Broomsticks.

Carefully, Harry sauntered to the road leading into the busy town, trying to look as normal and carefree as possible. The Aurors, he noticed, were stationed one at each road entrance, and several more at key street corners. At first, as Harry passed one, he thought for sure his tense posture would give him away, but the Auror paid him no notice. He began to relax a little.

The Three Broomsticks was mostly deserted, probably due to the fact that the lunch hour hadn't begun yet. Harry quickly scanned the room. No reddish-black-haired Gryffindor sixth year. He was about to turn and leave when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a tiny figure huddled in one of the back booths. 

Harry took a cautious step forward. The girl in the corner booth didn't look up. Her long blonde hair hung in clumps over her shoulders, and she was curled up in the fetal position, her knees pulled tightly against her chest. With a sinking heart, he realised that he recognized her.

"Luna?" He moved a little closer, but she didn't look up. He was beginning to get worried. "Luna!"

Luna's head snapped up, and Harry suddenly felt paralyzed by her eyes. They were still the same colour blue he remembered, but there was an unfathomable, almost frightening depth to them. She looked much older and wiser, as if she had seen and experienced many terrible things in her life. 

"You're Harry Potter," she said matter-of-factly, and Harry was surprised to find that gone was the dreamy quality of her voice. It was replaced with a flat, low tone. He had the vague uncomfortable feeling that she had read his mind. How else could she have known it was him? He still looked different…

"How do you know who I am?"

Luna took a moment before answering, and when she spoke, it was in a detached, flat voice as she stared unblinkingly out the window. "I saw you come with Sirius Black, only he was a big, yellow dog."

Harry nearly choked. "Don't say that so loud!" he hissed angrily, and Luna turned back to him, her mouth twisting into a cynical smile. 

"Don't worry, Harry, I'm the only person who knows." She stared intensely at him for a few moments, and Harry felt as if he was being scrutinized to his very soul under her gaze. Suddenly her eyes widened, and she exclaimed, "You…maybe you could do something to stop it."

"Excuse me?"

Luna's eyes were riveted on his face as she twisted her hands. "Perhaps you can do something to prevent it. There is…something about you, though I'm not sure what, but maybe you'll be able to stop the inevitable."

"Stop _what_?"

"The tragedy that's approaching," she said, as if it were an everyday occurrence to talk about coming catastrophes.

"_What_ tragedy?" Harry pressed, completely nonplussed.

Luna tilted her head a little, a bitter smile still pulling at the corners of her mouth. Her next words, however, were burned forever into his mind. She leaned forward, her eyes luminous and wide, and in complete sincerity said quietly, "Everyone's going to _die."_

**_Author's Note:_** So, there's an update. Gosh, it's been almost two months! Sorry about that... I've tried something new in this chapter. _The World as We Knew It_ was written entirely in Harry's perspective, but I can see that I won't be able to do that for this fic. So perhaps there will be more POV's to come in the future. Hope this chapter bumped up the mystery for you all...what is Theodore talking about? And what did Luna see? And by the way, each is referring to a different event. It's not the same. Next chapter--Harry meets Leila in Hogsmeade and discovers a startling revelation.


	7. Meeting

**A/N: **This chapter is dedicated to My Lady Athena. Happy 18th birthday a day early!

The streets of Hogsmeade teemed with students and villagers, but Leila wanted nothing to do with their joviality and liveliness. She wished she hadn't let Melissa and Demelza convince her to come, but they'd convinced her that it would be a distraction. The trip was exactly the opposite, though—everything seemed to remind her of Harry or Sirius. The Three Broomsticks where the Gryffindors' victory celebrations had been held. The Shrieking Shack where Sirius had first taken her and Harry on a weekend outing when they were young. Honeydukes where Harry had eaten so much candy once that he'd been sick for a whole night. Zonko's where Sirius had supplied them with enough joke items to drive their mother crazy for months. Lily had never quite forgiven Sirius for that one…

She had already made a visit to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop to pick up some much needed parchment, quills and ink, but now she was thinking of heading back to the school. Her friends would be gathered in the Three Broomsticks for Butterbeers, but she'd rather just leave than subject herself to the whispers, pointed fingers, and not-so-subtle glances. Her arms were full of her purchases, and she was so preoccupied that she wasn't paying attention to where she was going…didn't notice the obstacle in her path until she ran straight into someone…

Her armload of purchases went flying and both of her bags again. With, a crash, the bottles of ink exploded, splattering everything with dark ink.

"Oh, my god, I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching—here, let me help you."

Leila was vaguely aware of a broad-shouldered, light-haired boy scrambling around on the ground, helping her gather her things. "Repario," he said, tapping his wand on the split bag, and then again on the other one, but she could have sworn that she felt the tiny breath of another spell emerging from his wand between the Repario's.

"Leila, listen carefully," the boy hissed. She jerked a little, wondering how he knew her name. "No, don't react. Just keep picking up your things. We're being watched by Aurors."

Numbly, she nodded and forced herself to reach for another quill.

"I need you to meet me in the in the storage shed behind Gladrags Wizardwear in ten minutes. Try to lose the Aurors. Don't let them follow you."

"But why? Who are you and what do you want?"

"It's important," he insisted again, and suddenly, she recognized the voice…his voice…but he looked so different…

"Harry?"

The boy let out a long breath. "Yeah, it's me. Just be there."

He handed her the last stack of soggy parchment and straightened. "I'm so sorry," he apologized in a louder voice. "Let me give you some money."

"No, it's alright…" Leila began, but he was already pressing a galleon into her hands and walking away in the opposite direction away from the designed meeting spot.

She numbly glanced at the coin, but when she looked up, he was gone.

Taking a breath, Leila looked around, making special note of the people surrounding her. Lots of students, an old man with a cane, a younger witch talking to her friend, an older woman on a bench, a gray wizard in black reading a paper…

She started off in a direction no one seemed to be headed, and walked several blocks before stopping to look at a copy of Witch Weekly at a street vendor. She shoved her nose into the magazine and covertly sneaked a look at her surroundings.

Bingo. The wizard with the newspaper was standing casually against the streetlight, looking the opposite direction. The younger witch was across the street, though her friend had disappeared. As Leila watched, the female Auror glanced quickly at her, then looked away.

Not very subtle, Leila thought, smirking. She waited until both seemed to be looking the other way, then dropped the magazine and took off toward the center of town. She quickly blended into the crowd of noisy students, then waited until she could no longer see the Aurors and slipped into a side street.

After a block, she dared to look behind; the man was still following her at a brisk pace, his jaw set. She picked up her pace and could feel her heart pounding as she gulped in air.

He was still behind her.

She couldn't lose him.

Leila slipped around a corner and ran straight into someone else. Only this time, a pair of arms caught her shoulders to steady her, as a voice she recognized asked, "Leila! Are you alright?"

It was Theodore, looking down at her worriedly. And suddenly, Leila saw with perfect clarity what she needed to do.

Letting her bag slide gently off her arm onto the ground, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

It must have taken her boyfriend a few moments to register what she was doing, because he just stood there, his arms hanging loosely at his sides. Leila broke the kiss. "Play along," she hissed in his ear. "I'm being watched. "

Fortunately, he didn't ask questions. Their relationship was built on trust, even in the most extenuating of circumstances—and thank god for that. When she kissed him again, Theodore responded, pulling her closer to him and tilting his head to allow himself better access to her mouth. God, it felt good to be kissing him again...but she forced herself not to get too caught up in the moment. Her plan had to work. Leila made a great show of pressing into him and running her hands through his hair and over his shoulders and chest. Finally, she pulled away and stared up at him breathlessly. "Let's find a place to continue…in private," she suggested, wiggling her eyebrows.

"I think that would be a marvelous idea," said Theodore, smiling slowly as he traced his fingers down her exposed neck. Acting as if she could wait no longer, she grabbed his hand and yanked him along.

"Where are we going?" Theodore whispered as Leila propelled him toward Gladrags Wizardwear.

"You'll see," she whispered back, tugging a little harder. They stuck to the alleyways, and it wasn't long before they stood before the shed. Leila immediately launched herself at him, kissing him fiercely as he responded by running his hands up and down her back, then fiddling with the bottom of her shirt. She finally broke the kiss. "Hurry," she breathed. "Inside."

"Wait," said Theodore, looking a little breathless himself, and Leila wondered how much he was really enjoying their little act. "Wait, silencing charms."

"Well, hurry up and do them!"

He drew his wand, pointed it at the shack, and murmured the spell before crashing his mouth against hers again. She groaned in approval, and somehow, they stumbled backwards through the door into the shed.

The door slammed shut, leaving them in patchy darkness. "Lumos," someone whispered, and the shed was suddenly lit up.

There was a startled gasp; Leila pulled away and spun around to see Harry emerging from the shadows, an astonished expression on his face. He was gaping at them, and she took a second to look him over. His wand light showed that he was a little thinner than the last time she'd seen him, and his clothes looked as if they hadn't been washed in a few days, but for the most part he looked fine. "Harry," she exclaimed, launching herself at her brother, and a moment later, she was hugging him, and he was numbly hugging her back…

"Oh, Harry, you're alright!"

She pulled back. He was still looking down at her with the shell-shocked look. "Leila…you…and Theodore?"

Leila rolled her eyes. "Are you really going to be a prat about that? Honestly, Harry, it was the only way to get here without the Aurors suspecting anything…"

"You had Aurors following you?" exclaimed Theodore, gaping at her.

"Yeah, they thought Harry might make contact with me and we might meet," Leila explained, grabbing Harry's arm and propelling him toward to her boyfriend. "Now, the Aurors think we're in here doing…well, you know…but instead we can talk to Harry…"

"Damn," said Theodore, his voice completely dead pan. "I thought I was about to get lucky."

Harry looked outraged, but Leila only laughed. "You prat," she said affectionately, slapping Theodore's arm. "But you know, that's probably not the right thing to say in front of my brother unless you want to leave this shed in a casket."

Theodore shrugged. "Sorry," he said apologetically.

"Don't be," said Leila. "My brother's just jealous 'because he hasn't gotten a good snog in over six months."

"Not true," began Harry indignantly, but she cut him off.

"Oh, don't be draft, Harry, Cho Chang is not a good snog."

"She's not the only…"

"Ginny?"

Harry crossed his arms stubbornly. "She's quite a good kisser."

Leila rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say."

"Wait," said Theodore, frowning. "Potter and Weasley…they're together? How is that even possible?"

Leila shifted uncomfortably at the question she wasn't allowed to answer…at least not with Harry standing there…but perhaps later she'd tell Theodore about the Aperio and everything. She simply had to tell someone. Keeping Harry's secret solely by herself was becoming more and more difficult by the day.

"Did you tell him everything?" her brother demanded, pointing at the other boy.

"Nothing," Leila defended herself. "But he'll keep our secrets, Harry, I know! I've been telling him everything I've heard at home and about everywhere for years now and he hasn't spilled any of that to his father. I trust him. And besides, he's got information that you and Sirius should know. Important stuff."

Harry still looked wary, but now he was rubbing his chin. "D'you know Occlumency?" he inquired shortly.

Leila frowned. Occlumency? But Theodore seemed to know what Harry was talking about, and was slowly nodding his head. "My father taught me when I was ten. I can keep your secrets."

"Except for under Veritiserum," said Harry.

"And that is much more likely to happen to Leila rather than me," Theodore defended himself.

"Do people know about you two?"

"No one. Except for maybe one of Leila's friends and my cousin in France who is trustworthy. No one will discover the connection."

"Those Aurors know now," said Harry.

"D'you really believe that Aurors are going to care about one Slytherin-Gryffindor relationship?" argued Theodore.

They stared each other down as Leila crossed her arms and tapped her foot. Boys. They could be so ridiculous sometimes.

At last, Harry nodded. "What do you have to tell me?"

"You start first," Leila cut in quickly. "I'm dying to know why you picked now to contact me. I've been wondering how you were for two weeks!"

"I need my Marauder's Map and my Invisibility Cloak," said Harry, and she could feel a little of the air deflate. He'd only come for his things. "And I wanted to see you," added Harry hastily, seeing her expression. "The stuff was just a good excuse to sneak in, that's all."

Leila grinned at him. "And how do you propose I get your items to you?"

"Your mail is being watched, isn't it?" asked Harry, frowning, and she nodded. "Then you'll have to leave it somewhere we can access it. How about…the Shrieking Shack?"

"And how exactly am I supposed to get there?" she demanded. "The next Hogsmeade weekend isn't for another month."

Harry smiled conspiratorially, and quietly explained about the secret passageway. "As long as the Aurors don't follow you around Hogwarts, it's a perfect arrangement."

She quickly agreed, and then Harry turned to Theodore. "Something you wanted to tell me, Nott?"

"Sure, Potter," Theodore said, scowling. "If you could get Weasley out of Azkaban, this should be child's play for you."

Harry raised his eyebrows, and Leila clutched at her boyfriend's arm.

"There are prisoners in my dungeon."

There was a long, drawn out silence.

"Prisoners," echoed Harry at last.

"Prisoners," said Theodore grimly. "My father took great pleasure in introducing me to them last summer." He pressed his lips together, and Leila shuddered, closing her eyes tightly and trying not to think about what it'd be like to be trapped in Nott's basement at the mercy of Death Eaters for years. "I think," continued her boyfriend quietly, "that some of the prisoners may be people from your side."

"And exactly how long have they been there?" Harry asked, looking like he'd be sick.

"My father wouldn't say. But you need to get them out, you and your wonder team, wherever you're camping out. I'll give you all the information you need, as long as it's not directly traceable back to me—Leila and I will write down instructions and put them in the Shrieking Shack with your stuff. But if you don't go soon…I'm afraid most of the people won't last long."

Harry finally nodded. "We'll do what we can." He looked at his watch. "You need to go…I don't want the Aurors bursting in here or anything."

"Wait," said Leila quickly. "You just got here. How's Ginny and Sirius and Regulus? Where have you been hiding out all this time? What are you going to do next?"

Harry glanced uncomfortably at Nott before answering. "Ginny's fine, actually, a lot better than I'd expected from someone who'd just spend months in Azkaban." He frowned, and Leila felt Nott shift a little next to her. He was probably wondering why Harry was referring to Ginny's imprisonment in months and not years. "Ginny must have a phenomenal magical reserve," said Harry. "She was on her feet in no time. She's spitfire, for sure." He smiled fondly, and Leila couldn't help the grin that spread slowly over her face.

"Did you ask her out?"

"If you count the 'I'm sorry for breaking up with you, and I'll never do it again' line, I guess I did."

"Did you have to slip a potion into her drink to get her to say yes?" Leila teased.

Harry scowled. "I should be asking Nott the same thing," he shot back, and Leila smirked.

"No potions necessary. I won him over with my charming personality."

Theodore rolled his eyes, and Harry muttered something about "Charming, my arse."

"Did you say 'Regulus?'" asked Theodore suddenly, fixing his gaze on Harry.

Harry shifted, looking at the ground. "Yeah, why?" he returned defensively.

"Nothing," said her boyfriend, but Leila could tell that the wheels were turning as he worked things out for himself.

Harry glanced at his watch. "You should probably go."

Leila nodded. "Harry, be safe, OK?"

He smiled faintly. "Safe. What an interesting concept."

"Prat," she said, grinning. "Me and Theodore, we'll be your connections here at Hogwarts, OK?"

"Right," said Harry, and then he hesitated before continuing. "You can't tell Mum or Dad, not when they're still being questioned under Veritiserum."

"I know," Leila said softly.

He suddenly looked extremely uncomfortable. "Uh…you two should probably…well, you know, your clothes…"

Leila looked down. All her buttons were still intact, and her hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail. "Oh, yeah." She quickly roughed up her shirt and unbuttoned random buttons. Pulling her hair out of the band and messing it up, she turned to Theodore who had untucked his shirt and ruffled up his own hair, then looked back at Harry. "Good?"

"Good," he said.

"Oh, one more thing," said Harry as she and Theodore turned to the door. "Keep an eye on Luna, will you? I crossed paths with her in the Three Broomsticks and she completely freaked me out…she recognized me, for one, and knew that I was here with Sirius, then started going on about how everyone was going to die. You should watch her, OK? I'm not sure what's going on."

He closed his eyes, and suddenly his hair was turning a light shade of brown, his shoulders were widening, and when he finally opened his eyes, they were blue, not green.

"You so have to teach me how to do that," said Leila firmly, and Harry hugged her one more time.

"Good bye."

"Bye, Harry."

* * *

As Leila parted paths with Theodore with a chaste kiss, whispering, "I'll see you tonight; same time, same place" into his ear, she noted that the same male Auror was carefully watching her from behind his newspaper, and when she started toward the town, he moved too. Good. They were still following her. She dare not look back again—they might suspect something.

She felt like skipping and dancing through the square, yelling at the top of her lungs: "Harry's alive! He's fine!" He and Ginny and Sirius and Regulus were all alright, and they were going to rescue the people in Theodore's dungeons…

Now, she could walk among the gossipers and not really care what they were saying. Her brother was no criminal—he was a hero. He deserved an Order of Merlin, First Class, and if she had anything to do with it, she'd see that one day, he received it. He hadn't even tried to beat Theodore up or anything. Yes, today, Harry deserved a medal.

She wondered what Ginny was like. Sure, she'd dormed with the girl in her first year, but the timid Weasley had hardly spoken at all and had mostly kept to herself. The Ginny Harry described was very different than the Ginny she'd known, and unlike any of the Weasleys period that she was acquainted with. Maybe she was a little like Fred and George. Maybe.

Wondering where she should go now, Leila retraced her steps to the point where she'd left her bag of purchases, then headed toward the Three Broomsticks. Harry had talked about Luna acting strange. Well, maybe he just didn't know Luna in his own world very well. She was odd…it was her trademark personality trait, though. Leila had talked to her friend periodically throughout the summer, and although Luna's calls had become less frequent closer to the end, she hadn't noticed anything odd about the Ravenclaw's conversations. Since the beginning of school, Leila had only seen her friend in passing, being caught up in her own troubles.

Resolving to go talk to Luna anyway, Leila turned her footsteps to the Three Broomsticks, no longer caring whether the Aurors followed her or not. The shop was packed with students who had all decided that now was as good a time as any for a hot drink. Leila searched the crowds for Luna, and wouldn't have spotted her were it not for the flashy red radish earrings. Luna didn't look up when she slipped into the empty seat across from her.

"Luna?" said Leila uncertainly, but the girl didn't reply. "Luna."

Finally, Luna looked up, and her eyes were expressionless. "He doesn't believe me," she said bitterly. "I thought he would…I thought he'd changed."

"Harry's just concerned about you," said Leila, watching Luna warily. How much did she know? How much had Harry told her? "I am too. Are you alright?"

"No," said Luna vaguely. "I don't think I am." She leaned forward. "I see things."

"What type of things?" Leila asked carefully. "When did it start?"

Luna shrugged and resumed staring out the window. "It didn't 'start.' I've always seen things, things other people don't believe, but now...now it's different, more intense…"

Suddenly, her head snapped around, and Leila wanted to back away. It was like seeing a completely different person. Luna's eyes were wide and intense, and her voice was low and steady. "You must convince him. You are the only one. You must convince him that the person who will want to help is not who they say they are. If they accept the help, they will all die…"

Leila shrank back. "Luna…"

Luna watched her calmly. "The things I see always come true," she whispered. "Always."

"But who is this person?" Leila pressed.

Luna closed her eyes. "I can't tell for sure…it's almost as if this person has two faces that blur together…" She concentrated a moment longer, then her eyes snapped open. "But you must tell him. Tell him that if he does nothing, something…something horrible will happen."

"Something horrible?"

"Many lives will be lost if he does nothing."

* * *

"Prisoners?" exclaimed Sirius, his jaw practically on the floor.

"Prisoners," echoed Harry tiredly.

"I think I'd prefer Azkaban to a Death Eater's dungeon," said Ginny, hugging her knees as her wide eyes took in everything.

"Me too," said Harry grimly.

"But prisoners! And the Order never knew a thing about it!"

"I would think that would be the Death Eaters' most guarded secret," said Regulus darkly. "And we don't have a spy."

"We've got to get them out," said Harry.

"The Horcruxes…"

"…can wait," finished Harry. "These are people's lives we're talking about. Theodore Nott will give us instructions. He and Leila will leave them in the Shrieking Shack as soon as possible. We can check it every day."

"And how do we know he can be trusted?"

"We don't." Harry pinched the bridge of his nose wearily. "Leila trusts him, though, and I'm under the impression that she has a pretty good sense of judgment."

"We could be walking into a trap," said Sirius.

"I know," Harry replied with a sigh. "But we have to try."

Ginny uncurled herself from the chair and gave Harry a quick hug. "You and your saving people thing," she said fondly. "Now, who wants dinner?"

**Author's Note: **That wasn't too long of a wait, was it? I got quite a few death threats.

Remember to review!


	8. Prisoner

The cool October wind swept past Harry as he soared high above the dark countryside. Tiny lights flashed and twinkled far below, and if he could have smiled, he would have. The moon was just a sliver in the sky—perfect for what they were going to attempt tonight.

He knew instinctively when he was getting close by the tingle in his spine. Harry angled downward, gliding silently on the air currents. Directly below he could see the dark shape of the Nott mansion and braced himself for the wards. Suddenly he felt resistance, but only for a moment as if the wards were trying to decide whether to let him in or not before he passed through and landed silently on the topmost spire of the Death Eater fortress.

It was as Sirius and Regulus had suspected: the wards were not keyed to specifically keep animagi out, just strangers in human form. He hadn't been detected in his falcon form, so neither would they. It was, of course, a major flaw in Death Eater defenses, and, Harry thought regretfully, after tonight they probably wouldn't be able to use this particular loophole again. But it _had _been an easy mistake to make on Nott's part—animagi were so rare that it was likely that no one had ever thought to use this fact to their advantage before. But then again, Pettigrew had crossed over the wards into Hogwarts multiple times when he was still Scabbers—Harry couldn't think of why they'd never questioned this fact back in the old world.

But now was not the time for regrets. Tonight, they were here strictly on business.

He surveyed the grounds. Sirius, Regulus and Ginny would be approaching from the north side, where there was a small servants' entrance. The perimeter was heavily warded, but evidently Theodore Nott Senior was overconfident in his outer wards; Leila and Theodore had said in the notes left in the Shrieking Shack that there were very few defenses past the great oak doors leading into the marble-floored front hall of the mansion—something for which Harry was glad. Now the biggest obstacle they had ahead was staying undetected—and avoiding Death Eaters.

Theodore hadn't had to tell them that the Nott Mansion was the second-most Death Eater occupied residence, Malfoy Manor being the first. However, Lucius had had a falling out of late, becoming Lord Voldemort's second-in-command, so many of the lower-ranking Death Eaters congregated at Nott's instead. And of course if they were discovered, any one of the Death Eaters could call for backup with a single touch of his wand to the Dark Mark on his forearm.

Silently, Harry launched himself into the air and drifted lower and lower. He circled back and forth, testing where he felt the resistance begin and where it gave way, then landed on the north lawn in a patch of trees just inside the wards. Transforming, he reached for McNair's wand and touched the coin in his pocket—cold for all clear.

Slowly, three cloaked figures emerged from the shadows and crept closer, stopping about four yards away from where Harry stood. The smallest one waved merrily at Harry.

"Ready?" Sirius's voice echoed across the invisible barrier.

Harry nodded, then watched as Sirius turned to Ginny. "Do it," she sighed.

His godfather pointed his wand at the girl. "Stupefy," he murmured, then caught her carefully. Regulus had already reverted to his Animagus form and was slythering through the wards.

"Accio Ginny," Harry whispered, and instantly the limp body flew at him. Her weight slamming into him knocked him over backwards and he sprawled onto the grass with her on top. "Oomph."

A second later, Regulus was chuckling as he muttered, "Enervate," and Sirius was downright laughing as he helped pull a sullen Ginny off of Harry.

"Never again," vowed Ginny as she straightened her clothes and made sure her wand was still in place. It was she who had thought of stunning as a way to get through wards—ingenious really. The magical barriers didn't recognize unconscious bodies as a threat, another large flaw in the defenses.

After tonight, Nott would be doing some serious upgrades, thought Harry ruefully.

"This way," said Regulus, and they crept closer. The sliver of moon cast an eerie light on the scene, and in the dark the shrubbery and manicured bushes looked frightening as the high walls of the fortress-like house loomed above them.

Harry went first, though it didn't really matter—they'd committed the design of the house to memory, spending hours pouring over the parchments Theodore had sent them, shaping and creating the perfect plan.

As they moved, Harry could hear Regulus murmuring spells under his breath, unraveling and testing the wards. Ginny slipped ahead and walked next to Harry, her hand dangling just inches from his, and he wanted to take it, but wasn't sure if he should, not with Regulus and Sirius there.

Ginny looked over at him, saw his hesitation, and gave a sigh of impatience. "Harry, they're not going to care."

But before he could reply, Sirius said, "Wait up, you two."

Harry and Ginny stopped. Regulus had put away his wand. "There are no anti-apparation wards up around the grounds, but they're in place so in the event of an attack, Nott could erect them in a second to trap his enemies. As for the inside of the house, I believe you could apparate out, but not in, but that too could change in a second."

Sirius swore. "He's smarter than we'd suspected. What about anti-portkey?"

Regulus smiled grimly. "We're in luck. Nothing, not even in emergencies."

They reached the steps leading up to the huge double doors. "Ginny?"

"Yeah, yeah," she said irritably, pulling Harry's Invisibility Cloak from the pocket of her robe and slipping it over her head.

"You won't move?"

"I swear," the invisible girl said. "We've been over this a million times, Regulus! I get it. I'm only 16, so obviously the only thing I'm fit for is guard duty. Don't worry, I'll be sure and let you know if anyone comes."

"Gin," Harry began.

"Just go," she sighed, pulling the cloak off her head to look at them. "We don't have much time."

Reluctantly, Harry climbed the steps to the door. If any more Death Eaters were to appear for a midnight rendezvous, Ginny could alert them with a tap of the coin she carried, copies of the ones in their pockets. Cold meant all clear, vibration meant they had visitors, and hot was for emergency. She'd copied the Protean charm Hermione had put on their DA coins in his fifth years, adding a few of her own modifications. Now the coins could show the bearer exactly who the message was from.

They reached the double doors, and here they paused. Everything depended on whether or not they could breech the second line of defenses—the password-guarded front doors. Theodore had told them that there was a special family-member password, but if they used that one, his father would know for sure that it was his son who had betrayed him. Instead, they were to use the Death Eater password, given to all the Death Eater friends of Nott Senior. Therefore, once their plot was discovered, the Death Eaters would assume that one of their own had helped the four.

"Power," murmured Regulus, and to Harry's intense relief, the Dark Mark on his forearm glowed for a split second and the doors swung open. Luck was on their side—Nott had not changed the password since the last time his son was home.

"Real creative, these blokes," said Sirius. "You'd think they'd come up with something a little more original."

But both Harry and Regulus shushed him at once—they were inside the mansion. Immediately, Harry transformed silently, and next to him, Sirius and Regulus did as well. He looked at the big black dog, then at the patterned snake lying perfectly still on the marble floor, and nodded once. Regulus did an about-face and slithered toward the high-ceilinged living room, and Harry launched himself into the air and flew after Sirius in the opposite direction.

It was all part of the plan—once the Death Eaters discovered the invasion into their fortress, they must not think that Harry and crew had come with the intention of freeing the prisoners; they must be led to believe that in the process of raiding the house for valuables, the prisoners were discovered and released out of compassion. Theodore had informed them of the huge safe behind the portrait of Salazar Slytherin in the living room, though he hadn't a clue what was in it. The safe turned out to be the perfect target, and an excellent addition to their plan. Regulus would fiddle around with the locked safe while Harry and Sirius released the prisoners.

Sirius stopped, sniffing around at a door. He turned to Harry as if to say "This is it" before transforming and turning the knob. The door swung open to reveal a dark stairway, but neither of their forms required light, so in an instant, Sirius was a dog again. Harry gently glided down the dark stairwell behind Sirius, whose toenails clicked eerily on the polished wood flooring.

At the bottom of the steps, Sirius stopped again, sniffing in both directions before turning confidently to the left.

It was around the next corner that they encountered their first Death Eater.

A shaky light was drawing closer, stopping suddenly as a voice called out, "Who's there?"

Sirius became like a stone statue, but Harry glided forward, right over the head of the unsuspecting man, transforming mid-air and dropping silently to the floor. A split second, he had his arm around Death Eater's neck and his wand buried into the fleshy skin of the man's neck. "Don't move an inch," Harry hissed, "or you'll be dead before you can blink."

The Death Eater didn't have a chance. He froze, and a second later a human Sirius was approaching, wand outstretched. "Drop it," Harry's godfather said. "Drop your wand now, and no one will get hurt."

Slowly, the man released his wand. It dropped noisily to the floor.

"Tell us where the prisoners are kept, and we might let you live," growled Sirius menacingly.

Harry gave the man a shake, quite a feat as the Death Eater was quite a bit larger than him—this would be a problem if the dimwit actually realised that fact and decided to use it to his advantage. But Death Eaters were never known for their intellectual abilities.

"Prisoners? I .. . . I don't know what you're talking about," the man squeaked.

"Don't play draft," Sirius said dangerously. "We know you're hiding prisoners. Tell us where they are!"

Harry rolled his eyes. But then Sirius's fist appeared out of nowhere, smashing into the man's jaw, and Harry stumbled back under the force of the impact. He almost fell, but managed to regain his balance, still latched onto the man's shoulders.

Now the poor Death Eater was trembling. "Down one more flight of stairs then to the right. Just don't kill me!" he managed to say before Sirius hit him again. This time, Harry could not sustain the combined weight, and dove out of the way just in time—the man tumbled to the floor heavily, immediately curling up in a ball and whimpering.

Sirius shot him a contemptuous look. "Pathetic," he said, looking disgusted. "Stupefy."

Harry darted around to snatch up the man's forgotten wand. "Next time," he told Sirius coolly, "You hold the Death Eater, I'll punch him."

Down the second flight of stairs, and to the right, and they'd reached a long corridor. Sirius held up his wand and the eerie light bounced off pillars and bars. Prison bars. The hallway was lined with cells.

A stench only comparable to Azkaban rose and Harry fought back the urge to vomit. Holding his nose, he followed Sirius, using his own wand light to peer into the cells, shuddering when he saw bones. So far, there were no signs of life, and he was beginning to wonder if they'd come too late…

But then there was a noise at the end of the corridor, a slight rustling, then the murmur of a voice and a hacking cough. Sirius put out an arm to slow Harry. "Careful," he hissed, and slowly, they crept toward the noise.

Sirius was two steps ahead when they reached the very last cell; carefully, he held out his wand and peered into the darkness, and then he gasped.

"What? What is it?" Harry called, hurrying forward, his own wand outstretched.

But at that moment, he heard a slight scuffling behind him and whirled around just in time to avoid a red-streaked spell speeding by, and then a nasally voice said, "Very good, Harry, I can see you've been practicing."

Harry didn't have to see the dumpy, water-eyed man appear to know who it is. "You," he growled.

"Tsk, tsk, Harry, is that any way to greet an old family friend? I would have thought your parents would've taught you better." Peter Pettigrew leered at him, wand outstretched. "But what I don't understand, is what a kid like you is doing in the basement of a Death Eater's house all alone in the middle of the night?"

Harry was vaguely aware that the light behind him had disappeared, but suddenly, a black shape loomed next to him and Sirius's voice rang through the darkness. "He's not alone."

Pettigrew's smug face vanished, replaced by a look of horror. "S-Sirius, h-how did y-you get here?"

Sirius's only reply was a growl as he shoved Harry aside, his wand pointed straight at Pettigrew's heart.

"Going to kill me now?" Pettigrew's fear had been replaced once more with a smug irony, as if he'd just remembered something imperative. His eyes glinted in the pale light. "You think you've got me in a corner, don't you? But you were always too hotheaded, Sirius. You never think things through. It's your greatest flaw."

With a roar, Sirius launched at the man, his wand slicing through the air, but in an instant Pettigrew was gone; Sirius swore as Harry swung his wandlight around just in time to see one large rat disappear into a crack in the wall.

For a long moment, they stood there staring at the spot where Pettigrew had just vanished. Then Harry grabbed Sirius's sleeve. "Come on," he said urgently, quietly. "He'll have the whole house up in a few minutes. We haven't much time."

Not bothering to see if his godfather was following, Harry quickened his pace the last few steps to the cell. He held out his wand, peering into the cell. "Hello?"

Then a weak voice from the darkness spoke: "Sirius? Are you really there?"

And in the faint light, he could just make out a heart-shaped face and two luminous eyes.

It was Nymphadora Tonks.

Before he could even register the shock of seeing her _alive_, another weak voice said, "Tonks? Who's there?" and a gaunt face appeared in the light, blinking violently. Harry would have recognized the man anywhere, though in the other reality he'd only met him once. It wasn't the eyes or the face really that was the identifying factor; instead, it was the mop of dirty, red hair.

None other than Charlie Weasley.

**Author's Note: **There. The long-awaited chapter. I know it's a little long in coming and a little short in length, but the next one is on the way post haste. I have it drafted already. Thanks for all your reviews—they really inspire me when I'm having a dry spell in the realm of inspiration.


	9. Free

For a split second, time stood still as Harry and Sirius simply stared at the faces illuminated in the eerie wand-light. A million thoughts raced through his head—how was it even possible that they were alive? How long had they been here? Were there others? And how on earth would Ginny and even Lupin react?

And then, he felt a burning sensation in his pocket. Sirius reached for his coin at the same moment, and Harry drew in his breath when he realised that the coin was vibrating _and_ hot. The emergency signal on top of the alert that they had company. Pettigrew must have alerted the rest of the Death Eaters.

"Harry," said Sirius sharply, and he snapped back.

"She's in trouble. Maybe she hasn't had time enough to activate the emergency Portkey," Harry rambled. "I can go help her . . ."

"Regulus is closer." Sirius's voice was firm. "Help me get them out, and then we can head upstairs. If there's going to be a fight, well . . ."

He pointed his wand at the cell. "Alohomora." Thankfully the spell worked—but then, the Death Eaters wouldn't have had to bother with complicated spells when none of the prisoners had wands. A simple locking spell would have kept them forever.

Harry held out a hand to pull Charlie to his feet while Sirius went to help Tonks. The redhead squinted at him in the light. "_Harry Potter_? What in the name of Merlin are you doing here?"

"That's a pretty long story," replied Harry. "Let's get you out of here and we'll answer questions later, OK?"

"Wait," said Charlie, holding up a hand. "There's more."

"More?"

Charlie disappeared into the depths of the cell. In the darkness, Harry could hear voices, and then Charlie returned, supporting another man, much more emaciated, but with the same red hair.

Sirius's jaw dropped. "Fabian?" he gasped. "Fabian Prewett?"

Fabian smiled weakly. "Sirius Black. You're the last person I expected to see."

"Caradoc Dearborn is here too," said Charlie. "He's not doing so well, though."

Sirius made sure that Tonks could stand on her own before heading to the back of the cell.

"Wait, I thought they died in the first war!" Harry said, puzzled. Were things different in this reality?

"We did too," replied Tonks. Harry glanced over at her and she waved weakly. "Wotcher, Harry. Good to see you again."

Just then, his pocket burned again. "That's it," called Harry, feeling his stomach clench in worry. "I'm going up."

Sirius appeared in the shadows, helping an older man with a long, thin face and bright eyes. "Harry," he began.

"You've got enough Portkeys to go around," argued Harry stubbornly. "If they're in trouble, I can help!"

"I'm not letting you run wildly into the middle of a fight," said Sirius, his eyes glittering. "If anything, I'll go and you can help them activate the Portkeys. I've got years more experience, and you're just a kid . . ."

"Just a kid? Is that all you think of me?" Harry returned furiously. "You forget, Sirius, it was me who faced Voldemort _five times_ before I was even sixteen. I think I can handle a few Death Eaters!"

Sirius didn't seem to know what to say to this. Harry turned to go, but suddenly someone touched his shoulder.

"I'm coming too," said Charlie Weasley. "I can fight."

Harry eyed him carefully. "You sure?"

The redheaded man nodded, and without further hesitation, Harry handed him the wand he'd pulled off of the stunned Death Eater.

"Harry, wait!" called Sirius, and Harry turned. "Tell them the location."

"Oh, right. Um, Remus Lupin lives at number twenty-three Townsend Road in Liverpool."

It was a vital part of the plan. All the Portkeys they'd created were spelled to take the activator to Lupin's house. Unauthorized Portkey creation was not only a crime, but also an activity monitored closely by the Ministry. However, they were unable to trace Portkeys headed for destinations under the Fidelius charm, and the only other thing that registered was the name of the owner of the wand used to create the Portkey. It'd been Regulus's idea to use McNair's wand; if anyone got blamed, it would be the Death Eater who might point the transgression back at Harry, but who cared if he had a few unauthorized Portkey charges on his record? He had broken a "dangerous" prisoner out of Azkaban, after all.

As he and Charlie ran down the corridor, their footsteps pounding on the stone floor, Harry suddenly saw flickering lights ahead.

"Wait," he said, screeching to a halt, but Charlie had already seen them too.

"Death Eaters."

Harry nodded. "Yeah."

"Are there any other ways out?" asked Charlie, looking worried.

Harry shook his head. "Unfortunately not, but I've got a plan. You try and hold them off from the front, and I'll hit them from the back."

Charlie looked confused. "But how . . ."

Harry grinned. "Try and keep up," he said, before taking a few running steps, leaping into the air, and transforming with a quiet pop. Not waiting to see Charlie's reaction, he flew toward the black recesses of the ceiling, gliding along as silently as possible. Footsteps behind him assured him that the other man was following.

Harry glided over the heads of four, no five, black-hooded figures and landed noiselessly behind them. _Five, four, three, two, one . . ._

"There he is," one of the Death Eaters snarled, and instantly the three in front fired spells at Charlie, but all three jets of light ricocheted back; Charlie must have erected a pretty strong shield.

"_Stupefy. Stupefy. Stupefy," _Harry whispered, and the first two men fell, but the third moved just in time, then spun around searching for the source of the spell. "Behind you," he yelled at his companions who started, confused. Charlie took the opportunity to take one of the other men out with a well-placed _Expelliarimus. _

But now the Death Eater closest to Harry had regained his composure; _"Reducto," _he cried, and Harry ducked just in time. The Death Eaters were back to back—the second one was dueling Charlie furiously, but the redhead seemed to be holding his own.

"_Stupefy. Reducto. Expelliarimus. Impedimenta. Petrificus Totalis." _Harry shot off a number of spells in rapid succession, nimbly dancing away from the ones that were returning, deflected from the man's shield, before throwing up a strong shield of his own and crouching down as the fire was returned. But then suddenly the man's eyes widened, and he tumbled to the ground, hit in the back by one of Charlie's spells that the other Death Eater had dodged.

Without hesitation, Harry sent a stunner straight at the last remaining Death Eater who, not suspecting an attack from the back, crumpled to the floor.

"Nice one," shouted Charlie, darting toward Harry, plucking up discarded wands as he went. He finally seemed to find the wand he was looking for. "This one will do."

He must have seen Harry's confused expression. "I disarmed this man. His wand will work better for me than that other wand you gave me," he explained. "Now let's go!"

Without hesitation, Harry turned and ran for the staircase. They met no more Death Eaters, but as they neared the top of the second staircase, they heard sounds of a fight. Charlie was panting a little. "Are you sure you're OK?" Harry asked as he dashed the last few steps.

Charlie nodded. "Let's go kick some Death Eater arse."

With those words, they kicked open the stairway door and ran down the corridor. Regulus was dueling two Death Eaters in the living room, but he seemed to be fine. Harry aimed a spell at the Death Eater closest to him and the man fell. Regulus finally stunned the other man and shouted, "Outside! Go outside!"

He hardly had time to register the fact that the safe above the fireplace lay open—and empty.

Harry and Charlie ran full-speed down the hallway and burst out the front doors. There were five hooded figures on the lawn, all shooting spells at a particular white pillar on the front porch, and more were Apparating in at every moment.

"At the door!" someone shouted, and instantly Harry pulled up his shield just in time to deflect a dozen or so spells in rapid succession.

"Over there!" shouted Charlie, and Harry looked. Now he could see that there was a small figure behind the pillar, taking cover during spellfire, then shooting her own spells out into the crowd of Death Eaters. Harry could see by the bodies on the ground that some of Ginny's spells had found their mark.

"Harry," she shouted, eyes bright as she flattened herself to the cold stone pillar as a volley of spells cracked and chipped at her make-shift shield. She looked as if she was thoroughly enjoying herself, but then her eyes widened and her wand arm fell limply to her side as she stared at the redhead at Harry's side. "Charlie?!"

But just then Harry noticed the Death Eater who'd snuck around behind her and who was aiming a spell at her exposed back . . . but Charlie was faster. "Gin, get down!" he shouted, slicing his wand through the air. The man fell and did not get back up again.

The spells were falling through the air like rain now. Harry suddenly felt a resistance shimmer through the air, and he knew that at last, the anti-disapparation wards were in place, but none of that mattered—they had brought Portkeys. Regulus was circling, jumping from step to step, firing spells at the spot where the Death Eaters were Apparating in. Already there were four or five motionless bodies at the Apparation point. Charlie ran at Ginny, throwing spells at the Death Eaters who were attacking her, and Harry, deciding the two pretty much had their opponents covered, launched himself into the air.

"Look out!" one of the Death Eaters shouted, and Harry recognized one of the Lestrange brothers. He wondered if Bellatrix was here—he had a few things to settle with her . . .

But then the air around him was filled with jets of light and he dove, dodging the deadly spells as he plummeted to the ground. Landing on the lawn behind the group, he transformed and instantly sent a volley of spells in their direction. One man fell; the others had thrown up shields in his direction, but Charlie and Ginny, now fighting in the open, were taking advantage of the attention directed at Harry and hitting them from behind. Ginny's hair was flying as she threw curse after curse, her eyes reflecting the light now streaming from every window of the mansion.

He blocked four more spells, but then a figure appeared on the porch. It was Sirius. "Get out of here," he yelled at the four fighting, sending his own red stunner to slam into Lestrange's chest. "Use the Portkeys!"

Harry sent one more spell at a Death Eater before plunging his free hand into his pocket and feeling for the emergency Portkey. "Activate," he yelled, and just before the tug in his navel sent him spinning away, he saw Ginny running for Charlie, and Regulus disappearing just in the nick of time . . .

He was flying through the air; the air was rushing past his ears and his stomach was in his throat—and then it was over.

He landed hard on the wood floor and for a moment, everything was blurry as the room spun. "Harry!" someone called, and a second later, the person was helping him to his feet, pressing his glasses into his hand, guiding him over to a seat . . .

"You know, Harry," said Lupin dryly. "It would have been nice to have a warning before you lot showed up in the middle of the night with four people thought to be dead. Gave me quite a start."

Harry didn't have time to reply—the living room floor was suddenly filled with people. Sirius and Regulus appeared first, both breathing heavily; Ginny and Charlie appeared last, holding onto the same Portkey. Ginny recovered first, brushing off her jeans and pocketing her wand as she looked around the room. Harry could see a tear on her shirt from which blood was slowly seeping, but she didn't seem to feel it as she turned to Charlie and threw her arms around him.

"I thought you were dead," she said, her voice muffled in his dirty shirt. "Mum's going to have kittens when she finds out . . ."

Charlie hugged her back, eyes squeezed tightly closed. Maybe he was fighting back tears; Harry couldn't be sure. "But how . . . you were in Azkaban . . . how'd you get out?" Charlie said haltingly, drawing back to look at his sister.

"That's a long story," she said, smiling slowly, "but it can wait. First, I've got something I've got to do."

Ginny strode across the room to Harry. "You were brilliant," he told her quietly, and she looked radiant.

She turned to the audience. "Everyone, I'm about to kiss Harry, and if you've got a problem, you can just look away. You've been warned."

Harry hardly had time to think before she tugged on his neck, smashing her lips to his in one of the deepest, longest, most wonderful kisses he'd ever received. He hardly knew when his hands came to rest on her waist, one trailing up her back, burying itself into her ponytail.

Ginny broke the kiss, and Harry couldn't help the enormous grin that was threatening to split his cheeks. "Come on," he told her when he could talk again. "Let's get that arm of yours fixed up."

She looked down. "Damn," she complained. "I liked that shirt."

Charlie looked mildly surprised, but then he grinned. "I suppose I can't reprimand you when I probably taught you to swear myself," he admitted.

Harry looked around the room. Regulus was attending to Caradoc Dearborn and Fabian Prewett while Sirius cleaned a nasty-looking cut on his leg. Lupin hovered near Tonks who looked bewildered, but altogether not too bad for what she'd been through. Charlie disappeared for a moment before returning with a pile of clean bandages and some water. "It's all I could find," he said, sitting down on Ginny's other side while Harry gently pulled away the blood-stained shirt sleeve.

Ginny scowled. "It's nothing," she said, shrugging him away, but Harry persisted.

"It's not nothing," he said. "It's a right nasty cut, but I don't know any charms . . ."

"Let me," said Charlie, gently turning Ginny toward him so he could examine the cut. He waved his wand over it a few times, and the dirt and grime disappeared as the edges knitted themselves together, leaving a thin red line in its place.

"All better," said Charlie. "Now do you want to tell me how you managed to get out of Azkaban?"

"I think we all want to know that," said Tonks who was sipping on a vial Strengthening Solution. Already she looked a little better, but no potion could erase the dark hollows under her eyes or the haunted look on her face.

Harry met eyes with Sirius, then with Ginny.

"That's a long story," said Sirius hesitantly and Lupin nodded.

"So I've heard," said Charlie dryly.

"But I think we deserve the truth," said Tonks. "All of us."

Harry looked at Lupin, who sighed. "You kids go ahead. I've had quite enough."

"Um," he began eloquently. "Well . . ."

"What Harry means to say is that he and Sirius rescued me from Azkaban three months ago," said Ginny, kicking off her shoes and pulling her legs up on the edge of the sofa.

"Don't start there," said Harry. "Go back farther. To the beginning of the summer."

She frowned. "Should we tell them about the Aperio?"

"We'll have to," said Harry, "if we want to explain how two Hogwarts students were able to hold their own against Death Eaters . . ."

"Yeah," said Charlie, frowning. "Where'd you get so good, Gin?"

"Harry taught me," she said simply, but the confusion etched on Charlie's face only deepened. "At Hogwarts, during my fourth year," she explained, but then she seemed to realise what a hole she was digging herself into. "Oh, lord . . ."

"Ginny, Remus, and I are from a different reality," said Harry quickly, deciding that the best way would be just to blurt it out. "In that world, there was a prophecy stating that I was to be the one to destroy Voldemort in the end. My parents died when I was a baby, killed at Voldemort's own hand, and I grew up with my muggle aunt and uncle, unaware that I was a wizard or a hero. When I went to Hogwarts, I met Ron and became best friends with him. In my second year I met Ginny. Lucius Malfoy gave her Voldemort's enchanted diary and she opened the Chamber of Secrets but no one got hurt because my friend Hermione figured it out . . ."

Ginny snorted. "Don't be modest, Harry. No one got hurt because you opened the Chamber yourself and saved my arse."

"Ron helped."

"Babysitting a clueless Lockhart isn't much."

"_Anyway_,"said Harry pointedly, "she wasn't sent to Azkaban. In my fifth year I started a defense club and Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny were among the first to join. By that time I'd faced Voldemort four times, so I knew quite a bit of defense spells. At the end of the year, the Death Eaters kind of attacked us at the Ministry of Magic and we fought them off as best we could, but we had a casualty—Sirius."

"Don't tell them how I died, please," muttered Sirius. "I have a little dignity left."

By the glint in Tonks's eyes, Harry reckoned she was _dying_ to find out how Sirius had met his end so she could eternally hold it over his head.

"In my sixth year, Dumbledore died—how is not important—and at the end of the year I returned home to the Dursleys. I was depressed and I fell asleep wishing my parents were alive. The next morning I woke up to find my dad banging on my door."

Harry looked over at Ginny. "_I_ didn't have quite the pleasant welcoming party," she said dryly, but Harry could tell that memories of those months in Azkaban were still painful. "I woke up in a dirty cell in Azkaban with no recollection or idea of how or why I'd ended up there. No one would talk to me or tell me anything."

"Remus found me several days later," said Harry, continuing the story. "We figured it out—well, Remus figured it out—that we were in an Aperio and there was a third person from our reality somewhere in this world, but we had no idea how to find him or her. Instead, we restarted the Order of the Phoenix . . ."

"They disbanded?" Tonks asked, looking shocked.

Sirius looked grave. "We were devastated after your 'deaths,'" he said quietly. "No one wanted to even try anymore. Without Dumbledore, it was difficult anyway, and there were so many losses . . ."

"But Remus and I had brought new information with us from the other world, information that will hopefully provide the fatal blows needed to destroy Voldemort once and for all," said Harry. He 

quickly explained about the Horcruxes and the progress they'd made, but suddenly Regulus started fishing around in his pockets.

"Harry," he said quietly. "I think you'll be interested in what I found in the Nott safe."

And out of his pocket, he pulled a glittering tiara.

Harry stared. And stared.

"It's a Horcrux," said Regulus. "The second to last one."

"The last," Lupin corrected him. "Kiara and Bill finally found Hufflepuff's Cup."

"Oh, thank Merlin," breathed Regulus, leaning back in his chair. "Now we just have to destroy the snake."

"And then Voldemort himself," said Harry, feeling the sinking feeling returning to his stomach. They were so close, yet so far away . . . he still had no idea how kill Voldemort, and the matter pressed down on him like a physical weight.

"But how did you find out where we were?" asked Charlie.

"We gave up hope," put in Caradoc quietly. Fabian Prewett nodded. He looked incredibly like Molly Weasley, only a little younger, and much, much thinner.

Now Ginny was studying the older man curiously. "Charlie," she said softly, ignoring his question. "Is that . . ."

Charlie smiled. "Forgive my rudeness. Ginny, this is Uncle Fabian. Mum's younger brother."

Ginny's jaw dropped. "Oh, my god," she whispered. "I thought—I thought—"

"You thought I was dead, I know," said Fabian, sighing. "Seems that was a pretty easy mistake to make, from what I've heard."

"But didn't Mum have two brothers?" said Ginny hesitantly. "Where's the other one?"

"He was actually killed in the attack," Fabian replied heavily. "But that was a long, long time ago."

Harry realised that Molly Weasley's brothers had been just teenagers when they'd been working with the Order; he shuddered at the thought of spending most of his life in a dark prison cell.

"Tell us how you learned where we were," said Caradoc between heavy coughs. "I was under the impression that our existence was the most guarded secret of Lord Voldemort's."

"Well, my sister goes to Hogwarts," Harry began. "And she's dating Theodore Nott."

"I bet you didn't see that one coming," said Tonks, grinning.

"_Nott_?" exclaimed Charlie. "I'll bet your parents weren't too happy."

"Well," hedged Harry, "they don't exactly know . . ."

Tonks laughed delightedly.

"But he's to be initiated into the Death Eaters after he graduates," continued Harry, and the attentive audience sobered a little. "He doesn't want to, but that's beside the point. The point is that his father told him some secrets last summer, secrets he passed on to us via Leila."

"I owe that boy more than he'll ever realise," said Fabian fervently. "When this is over . . ."

"When it's over, there will be a lot of wrongs to make right," said Charlie quietly. "First and foremost, clearing your names," he continued, looking at Harry, Ginny, and the Black brothers."

Sirius cleared his throat. "Actually, you lot can help."

Tonks frowned. "How?"

"Well, you're not exactly going to go into hiding after this," said Sirius. "Unless you want to, of course; going public won't be very safe, not with the Death Eaters after you. But if you do return to your lives, somehow, word will get out that you're alive, and the Daily Prophet will jump on the story, for sure."

"You can tell them who really rescued you," said Harry, jumping on the idea. "It'll help clear our names, at least in the public opinion."

Charlie, sitting with his arm around Ginny, nodded firmly. "We'll do our best. It's the least we can do."

**It's two in the morning and I stayed up late just to finish this chapter for all my dedicated readers . . . lol. It's off to bed now.**


	10. Family

The whispers that met Leila when she entered the Common Room the next morning were nearly deafening. However, she had no idea what her classmates were whispering about. Once again it seemed as if she was either the last person to know either simply by accident, or something had happened that no one wanted to tell her about.

Unfortunately, Melissa didn't know what the latest gossip was either. She and Jeremy were the only Gryffindors who had stood by Leila when the news of Harry's Azkaban escapades had arrived. Jeremy, of course, would support Harry no matter what (a viewpoint that quickly made him unpopular among his classmates), and Melissa, loyal friend as she was, would believe anything Leila believed.

Leila knew the truth, but god, was it hard not to just spill everything out to her best friend. She knew the reasons for keeping Harry's secret, but the logic didn't make her situation any less difficult.

Apprehensively, she walked into the Great Hall with Melissa at her side. Perhaps she was only imagining that quite a few students' heads turned to look quickly at her before bending to whisper amongst each other.

She shifted uncomfortably. "What the hell is going on, anyway?" she muttered.

"No idea," said Melissa, and she seemed to shrink a little under the hostile looks. "Let's just grab some food and go, OK?"

But it didn't quite work that way. Jeremy, who had entered right after them, threw himself into the seat next to Neville and snatched up Seamus's copy of _The Daily Prophet._ He stared at it for a moment, then exclaimed, "Holy shit!"

Leila and Melissa froze, as did half of the Gryffindors closest to them, and several Slytherins. Jeremy seemed not to care; instead, he turned to the two girls and waved the paper in their nose. "Take a look at this."

_POTTER BREAKS INTO NOTT MANSION, STEALS VALUABLES; 19 WOUNDED,_ read the headline, and Leila choked. In a brief second she glanced across the room and locked eyes with Theodore; he gave her a tiny nod before turning back to an intense-looking conversation with Blaise Zabini.

"I have the coolest best friend in the entire world," announced Jeremy, grinning ear to ear. "He just broke into one of the most prestigious Death Eater homes in all of Britain and managed to take out 19 Death Eaters!"

"He didn't exactly do it alone," murmured Leila, studying the article.

_Last night, at approximately eleven o'clock, Harry Potter, an 18-year-old son of Chaser James Potter wanted for the crimes of releasing murderer Ginevra Weasley from Azkaban, broke into Theodore Nott's home in Cambridge, stealing thousands of galleons worth of valuables and wounding 19 of Nott's acquaintances who showed up to help fight the burglars. Potter's accomplices were his godfather, Sirius Black, murderer Ginevra Weasley, and Regulus Black, brother of Sirius Black believed to be dead. What other secrets is Potter hiding? Nott was unavailable for comment . . ._

Leila stopped there, shaking her head in disbelief. They'd done it—they'd really done it—but at a cost.

Valuables. Ha. More like human cargo.

On the other hand, four people against dozens of Death Eaters—well, her respect for Harry's fighting skills had just reached a new level.

"Look," said Melissa, pointing to a spot further down on the page. "_'Potter is now number one on the wanted criminals list. If he is spotted, readers are advised to be very cautious as none of us seems to know what he's capable of._' Now they're saying your brother is even more dangerous than You-Know-Who! What a piece of rubbish."

"If they'd been paying any attention at all, they would have noticed that Harry has been attacking _Death Eaters_, not innocent bystanders," said Jeremy loudly with a snort. Several Gryffindors looked appalled, but he only glared at them. "What're you looking at?"

The closest ones flinched. "Yeah, I thought so," muttered Jeremy, and with one last defiant look, he turned back to Leila and Melissa. "Your brother may be guilty," he said in a low voice, his eyes dark and intense, "but he certainly hasn't turned dark like the papers are saying."

Melissa nodded.

Something clenched around Leila's throat as she surveyed the two friends who had just put their confidence in her older brother.

"Thank you," she said quietly, meaning it.

* * *

For the first time in months, Harry woke up to find the space on the bed next to him empty, and at first, it confused him.

Ever since the first time Ginny had come, complaining of nightmares, she'd slept in his room every night. They'd kept it under the radar as far as they knew—Regulus and Sirius were late risers, and Ginny never came until she was sure they were asleep at night. It'd become so normal that things just didn't feel right without her there.

He sat up quickly and threw on some clothes. The room was unfamiliar, but he remembered that he must be at Lupin's house. There were sounds of movement beneath him, and an aroma drifted from the cracked door that promised of good food. Beams of light were spilling from the windows into the hallway. Harry idly wondered how long he'd slept; it must be the middle of the day by now. Following the sounds, he descended the narrow staircase and stopped at the kitchen door.

Remus hovered over the stove, wand in hand as he gave directions to Sirius who was looking very put out at being made to set the table. Ginny was hovering over Charlie, listening to him talk with an adoring look in her eyes. Through the door leading to the living room, Harry could see Fabian Prewett sitting on the couch, sipping a hot cup of tea.

Sirius noticed him first. "Harry!" he exclaimed, dropping the handful of silverware which scattered noisily on the tile floor.

"Dammit, Sirius," Lupin began, but Sirius paid him no heed.

"Harry, mate," he said, guiding Harry over toward the other side of the kitchen, where Ginny and Charlie were. "How're you doing? Slept a while, I see." Lowering his voice a little, he continued with a furtive look at Lupin, who had gone back to tending whatever was in the giant pot on the stove. "Please, save me, he's trying to turn me into a bleeding house wife!"

Harry grinned at his godfather, then nodded to Charlie and Ginny.

"Morning," said Charlie amicably, but Ginny immediately bounded over, grabbing Harry in an enthusiastic hug.

"Where on earth is the syrup?" Lupin exclaimed in the background. "Sirius, won't you get some from the cellar?"

"I'll get it!" Ginny practically shouted before grabbing Harry's elbow and dragging him out the door and into the hallway.

"Honestly, if you wanted to talk to me, couldn't you have thought of a more subtle way to get me alone?" said Harry, rubbing his arm as he grinned crookedly at her.

Ginny ignored his comment. "Sorry about last night," she said hastily, looking worried. "I wanted to come but I didn't want to risk anything, not with everyone here and things so delicate . . ."

"Delicate?"

"Harry, my _brother_ is alive. I don't him finding out first thing that I'm sleeping with you every night!" She turned bright red. "Well, not _sleeping, _just . . . you know what I mean."

And it was true—they hadn't done anything more than strictly sleeping, though somehow during the course of the night, she always ended up nestled in his arms. They'd kept the physical aspect of their relationship to moderate snogging. There hadn't been a lot of free time for . . .um, relationship advancement, not with the work they'd done preparing for their resistance against Voldemort. Somehow, taking his relationship with Ginny to the next level seemed wrong when people were dying every day from Dementor and Death Eater attacks. It didn't seem fair to Ginny to act as if he could promise her a future when he didn't even know if he was going to survive. He'd promised never to break up with her again, but he couldn't promise her anything else.

He still had a battle to win.

So when they'd kissed, he'd restrained himself, cautious not to cross carefully set lines, not only because he didn't want to move faster than she was ready for, but also because of the looming threat. If he died . . .

He didn't want to think about dying.

"So, um, did you sleep okay?" asked Harry.

"Heavens, no," said Ginny, and he felt a rush of relief. He grinned.

"Me neither. I kept waking up all night long, but I suppose I was just too exhausted to figure out why I was so restless."

"Well, we'll just have to remedy that tonight, won't we?" said Ginny, grinning slyly and reaching up to plant a gentle kiss on his cheek. "If we stay here, I'll just have to find a way to sneak by those nosy gits."

"I'll look forward to it," he promised.

"Oi, you two," said Sirius, sticking his head out in the hallway. "Are you going to get the syrup, or stand out in the hall grinning at each other like a pair of disgusting lovebirds?"

Laughing, Ginny grabbed Harry's hand and tugged him toward the door to the cellar, but not before Harry heard his godfather's muttered words, ". . . worse than James and Lily."

Breakfast turned out to be a smaller event than Harry had expected. Tonks was still sleeping off the prior night's activities, and Caradoc Dearborn, who's imprisonment had affected his health more than anyone else, was being tended to by Regulus. The rest ate their pancakes and oatmeal standing up, sitting down, or cross-legged on the floor, wherever there was room. Sirius, Charlie, Fabian, and Lupin were having an intense argument over whether Charlie and his uncle should just show up on the Weasleys' doorstep and announce their states of un-deadness, whether they should go to the Ministry, or whether they should wait a few days for the confusion surrounding the break-in at Nott's Mansion to abate.

"We definitely need to appear today," said Fabian Prewett, crossing his arms. "If we wait any longer, the Ministry will have dozens of questions about why we didn't show up sooner, who we were with, et cetera. It's now or never."

"If you're going to the Burrow, I'm coming too!" Ginny announced stubbornly. "I haven't seen Mum or Dad in nearly half a year. It's high time I pay them a visit."

"It's not safe," began Lupin, but Ginny let out a loud snort.

"And it will be safer in six months? Yeah right. We may have destroyed the Horcruxes, but we still aren't any closer to defeating Voldemort himself. No offense, Harry."

"None taken," said Harry. He really wanted to see the Weasleys, but even more so, he wanted to be able to talk to his own parents, to explain to them why he'd done what he'd done, to tell them about the other world and what had happened there, and to apologize for putting them through so much.

"The Aurors are busy cleaning up the Nott case. Surely they wouldn't be expecting us to drop in on my parents the day after," said Ginny pleadingly. "Just a little visit. _Please?"_

Now it was Sirius's turn to snort. "A 'little' visit? With all the stuff you've got to tell them? Maybe five hours, but no less."

"Then we could bring them here," argued Ginny.

"The Fidelius Charm . . ."

"The girl's got a point," said Fabian. "The Secret-keeper is Harry. There's no reason why we couldn't bring the Weasleys over for a while. I daresay their Floo isn't still being watched, but even so, they could always just Apparate here."

"If the Ministry discovers Remus's connection with us," began Sirius, but Lupin waved him away.

"They'll find out anyway, once they start question these two—" he gestured at Charlie and Fabian, "—about who helped them escape and where they came. I'm not afraid to be associated with you, and I doubt anyone will be taking me into custody, not with this lot to vouch for my integrity."

Ginny grinned so widely Harry wondered if her cheeks would split. "I'm going to see Mum," she breathed, more to herself than anyone else. "And Dad, and Percy, and the twins, and Bill . . ."

"They're different than the family from the other world," Harry mumbled, and her face fell.

"But they're still my family," Ginny whispered. "I won't get to see Ron, will I? He's at Hogwarts, still."

"Well, that's a blessing," muttered Harry. "Last time I saw _him_ I almost got my nose broken."

Ginny laughed as Charlie scratched his head. "I don't get it."

"Tell you later," his sister promised.

Lupin took a deep breath. "Well, I suppose there's no better time than the present."

* * *

Only a few minutes later, Harry fell out of the fireplace into the kitchen at the Burrow. Not much had changed. The sink was filled with dirty dishes washing themselves; eight chairs stood solemnly around the large table, but it could be made to fit more, Harry remembered, thinking about all the lively dinners he'd had in this very room. On the mantle, the family clock was missing a hand—Charlie's. The rest of the hands were stayed on "Mortal Peril." Lupin was already there, greeting Molly Weasley, who was wiping her wet hands on her apron and looking extremely perplexed at the sudden arrival of visitors.

"Is Arthur here?" Lupin was saying.

"Of course," she replied. "He doesn't work on Sunday, you should know that . . . Remus, who is this you've brought with you?"

Without meaning to, Harry touched his face. He'd momentarily forgotten the simple changes he'd made to his face—brown hair, longer nose.

"You'll see in a minute, Molly, but right now it is imperative that you fetch Arthur straightaway . . . Is Bill here? You can get him too, and Percy and the twins . . ."

"But the twins are in Diagon Alley at the shop," Mrs. Weasley said, her hands fluttering. "And Bill is there too, with Kiara, I believe . . ."

"I'll get them," Harry volunteered eagerly.

"No way," Remus said instantly. "I'm not letting you put yourself in danger like that!"

Harry laughed. "With this face? Who would recognize me? I'll only be a few minutes, I promise."

"But Harry . . ."

"_Harry_?" Mrs. Weasley shrieked, then clapped both hands over her mouth.

There was a noise at the door, and Harry looked over to see Mr. Weasley and Percy staring at them. "Molly, dear, what is all the commotion about?"

"Listen carefully," Harry said quickly. "Remus Lupin lives at number twenty-three Townsend Road in Liverpool. Remember that."

And he made for the door before Lupin could stop him; as he turned on the front step to Apparate to Diagon Alley, he could hear Mrs. Weasley's voice floating back to him. "That was _Harry_?"

Diagon Alley was nearly deserted; it was even worse than the visit Harry had made there the summer after his sixth year with the Weasleys. Posters warning people against Dementors and Death Eaters were posted on walls and lampposts, and most of the street vendors had disappeared. Many shops were closed, but Fred and George's was thriving with business.

Harry entered the store and looked around, marveling at the similarities to Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes in his world. It was comforting to know that some things didn't change, even in an alternate universe.

"Step right up, step right up, get your free Death Eater Detector with a purchase of two Skiving Snackboxes," Fred was calling over the heads of the people packed into his store. He was wearing a rather ridiculous-looking orange polka-dot bowtie and a top hat, but he didn't seem to care about the odd combination of clothing. Harry looked for George, but didn't see him immediately. Luck was on his side though—in a corner, he saw Kiara admiring the Pygmy Puffs, Bill only a step behind her.

He headed for them first. "'Scuse me, sorry," he muttered as he pushed through the crowd, but at last he reached the couple. "Bill, can I have a word?"

The oldest Weasley turned, mistrust written all over his face; Kiara peered curiously at Harry. "Who are you?"

"Lupin sent me," said Harry. "He's at the Burrow right now with Mrs. Weasley; something important has come up and he sent me to fetch you and the twins . . ."

"Who are you? How can we trust you?" demanded Bill, hand on his pocket. Kiara was reaching for hers too, and Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes. They were only being careful. He was still under disguise, after all—they had no idea of knowing who he was.

"Listen," he said, lowering his voice. "I'll prove to you that I mean no harm, but first I've got to get Fred and George. They need to come too."

He didn't wait for their reply; instead he turned and pushed through the crowd—and ran head into George, carrying a stack of boxes which scattered all across the floor.

"Sorry mate, didn't see you coming," called George over the ruckus as he and Harry scrambled to pick up the fallen objects.

"No worries," Harry replied. "Can I see you and Fred for a moment, though?" He leaned closer. "Lupin sent me."

George's eyebrows shot up into his hairline, but he only nodded and pushed his way over to Fred. After a whispered word, Fred handed the displayed joke object to a clerk and beckoned Harry to follow. He did, and a quick look behind him showed that Kiara and Bill were not far behind.

Fred led the way into a back room, and the instant Kiara had shut the door behind them, four wands were pointed directly at Harry.

He raised his hands obediently, but threw them a grin anyways. "Good Merlin, the Order's gotten a lot more jumpy since I last attended a meeting. Security is good, I suppose . . ."

"Who are you?" said Bill, waving his wand under Harry's nose threateningly. "And how do you know about the Order?"

Harry concentrated, and a second later, he looked like himself again.

Kiara gasped; Bill gaped. "Wicked!" Fred and George exclaimed together.

"Has something happened to Ginny?" Bill asked immediately, lowering his voice to an urgent whisper. "Is that why you came?"

"No, no," Harry reassured them. "Ginny's just fine, but something else has happened, something your family needs to see for themselves to believe. Lupin is at the Burrow, and I've come to get you three—well, four, if you want to tag along, Kiara—and take you to Lupin's house."

"But it's under a Fidelius," began Kiara.

"I'm the Secret-keeper," Harry said.

"Oh," she breathed.

"What sort of situation?" prodded Bill, still looking suspicious.

"Nothing bad, I swear," said Harry, resisting the urge to just blurt it out. But Charlie and Fabian had wanted to see the looks of surprise and shock on everyone's faces for himself when they discovered the truth.

Harry turned to Fred and George. "Can you two close the shop for a bit? Uh…well, actually the rest of the day would be good. This will take a while."

Fred and George disappeared back through the doors, only to reappear a second later. "It's been taken care of."

"That quickly?" Kiara said skeptically.

Fred grinned wickedly. "We just told the crowd we were about to start testing our Bermuda Bombshells and they all cleared out."

George rolled his eyes. "Don't listen to him. Zeke agreed to watch the shop for a few hours."

"Right," said Harry. "Ready to go, then?"

"Yeah, yeah, just get on with it."

* * *

Ginny paced the kitchen floor for what seemed to be the hundredth time. Actually that was probably a pretty accurate estimate—she'd been pacing every since Harry had left, nearly an hour ago.

Charlie had retreated into the living room to sit with Fabian after telling Ginny plainly that she was driving him nutters. Sirius was still there, however, leaning his chair back on two legs and reading a _Daily Prophet_. "Pacing isn't going to get them here any quicker," he said suddenly, setting down his paper and watching her bemusedly.

"I know what," she snapped waspishly, stopping directly in front of him. "But what if something happened? What if he was caught by Aurors?"

"Worrywart. You're worse than your mother," teased Sirius. "They're fine."

She wished she could believe him.

Ginny turned back to her pacing. An entire hour—surely a quick trip to the Burrow wouldn't have taken that long! A dozen grim scenarios raced through her mind. Harry captured. Harry in Azkaban. Harry being tortured by Voldemort for answers. Death Eaters bursting into Castaway Cabin and hauling her and Charlie and Uncle Fabian away to be locked in a dark dungeon cell, or worse, in an Azkaban tower surrounded by Dementors . . .

And then, the fireplace flared green; Ginny froze, almost as if her feet had grown roots into the floor. In slow motion she watched first Percy and the twins, then Bill and her parents, and finally Harry, Lupin, and a dark-skinned witch she didn't recognize stumble out of the fire into the kitchen. Percy's glasses teetered on the end of his nose as he paused to dust off his robes; Bill looked ten years older than the last time she'd seen him; and there were new wrinkles on Dad's face and more gray hairs on Mum's head than there had been before. Fred and George looked as if neither had shared a good laugh recently, and there was a new depth in their eyes.

Suddenly, time was speeding up. Her head was spinning wildly; she took a jerky step forward before stopping again, unsure if her legs would support her weight.

Fred and George caught sight of her first. In a split second, they barreled across the room and crushed her in a bone-breaking hug. Over George's shoulder, she saw Percy, walking toward them in a daze, an anguished expression on his face. "Ginny," he whispered, and Fred and George amazingly let go; a moment later, her stiff, unbending older brother was holding on to her as if she was his lifeline. When she felt something wet in her hair, she realized in astonishment that he was weeping.

"It's all my fault," Percy was mumbling, clutching Ginny to him and rocking back and forth as if in a trance. "It was my fault, but you're safe now . . . you're back . . . god, Ginny, you're _alive_ . . ."

She squeezed her eyes shut to keep the tears from escaping. Pulling herself together, she gently freed herself from Percy's embrace. "I'm fine," she said softly, smiling up at him. "See? I'm fine. It wasn't your fault—it was mine for being thick enough to write in that stupid diary . . ."

"I could have prevented it!" he cried out, and his eyes were tortured.

She hugged him again, and he clung to her. "Percy, it was Voldemort—_Voldemort_ did this, not you or anyone else_."_

Immediately, she noticed that everyone in the room had winced, but that thought fled her mind when she saw her parents standing there by the fireplace, her mother crying openly, her father's eyes bright. She let go of Percy and launched herself at them. Then she was caught up in the longest, most wonderful hug ever—her mother's. The tears returned, unbidden, to her eyes.

"Ginny, baby," Mum whispered, stroking Ginny's hair. "My Ginny . . . you're alright, you're safe . . ."

Ginny realised gratefully that Harry and Lupin had conveniently disappeared; maybe they were going to get Charlie and Fabian.

Mum finally let go. "You look so healthy," she said, disbelievingly, looking up and down.

"I've gained a lot of weight since August," said Ginny truthfully, reluctant to point out right away that she'd only been in Azkaban for a few months, rather than years. But the topic was unavoidable—eventually the truth would be told. However she'd rather wait until _after _the bombshell awaiting them in the next room: Charlie and Fabian.

"But it's been so many years," Mum continued, as if in a daze. "And you didn't even get to see Charlie before . . . before . . ."

More tears. Her mother let go to wipe her eyes on her apron, and Ginny shifted uncomfortably. "Um, about Charlie," she began, but couldn't continue, because her beaming father had swept down to embrace her; then Bill picked her up like she was six again rather than sixteen and swung her around the room before setting her down and ruffling her hair.

"Glad you're alright, kiddo," he said lightly, but his voice cracked magnificently. "We thought we'd lost you forever, and then when Charlie . . . well, it was just too much . . ."

"There's something you need to know about Charlie," Ginny tried again, but suddenly, the expression on Bill's face changed to one of utter disbelief. Her mum gasped, and Percy took a staggered step back. Ginny turned, already knowing what they were looking at; Charlie stood in the doorway, grinning widely at all of them, and right behind him was Uncle Fabian who was leaning on a cane and smiling almost shyly.

"He's alive," she finished lamely.

* * *

What seemed like hours later, the embracing and crying had ceased—at least for the moment—and Harry and Ginny were able to tell their amazing story, first of the Aperio, and then of Harry and Sirius's journey to the depths of Azkaban. They explained in detail their midnight operation at the Nott Mansion, only leaving out the part about where exactly Harry had gotten the information. He needed to keep Theodore Nott safe, and already too many people knew of Theodore's betrayal of his father and the Death Eaters. Charlie gave a particularly entertaining description of their outdoor battle with Death Eaters, adding a detailed account of Ginny's hexes and curses. Fred and George's eyes grew larger and larger and they kept shooting looks of unveiled admiration at Ginny; Percy and Mrs. and Mrs. Weasley looked extremely confused.

"But how . . ." began Mrs. Weasley.

"I learned at Hogwarts, Mum, in the other world," Ginny reminded her patiently. She was sitting next to her father, head on his shoulder, while Fred and George hovered nearby. They hadn't left Ginny's side since the shock of Charlie and Fabian's presence had passed. Bill, on the other hand, was sitting in between his girlfriend and his brother, and kept throwing the latter disbelieving glances, as if the reality of it all hadn't sunk in yet. Mrs. Weasley had at first clung to the son she had thought to be dead, but after reassuring herself that he wasn't going to disappear into thin air, it was Fabian that she sat beside, and she would periodically reach out to touch his shoulder or arm as if to make sure he was still there. Percy remained standing, and he kept running his hands through his hair and taking off his glasses to rub his eyes disbelievingly.

The Weasleys had taken it rather hard that Ginny was not the same person they'd known and loved before she'd been sent to Azkaban. Harry could understand—Leila had been the same when he'd finally told her his secret—but he hoped that the Weasleys would understand eventually that this way was much, much better. The Ginny from this world would have been barely alive, and after four years, the Dementors would have taken away many of her memories from her childhood. This way, Ginny had sixteen years of memories; she'd only been in Azkaban for three months, after all.

Harry looked over at Remus who was sitting in an out-of-the-way corner, watching the reunion with a small smile on his face. Sirius was upstairs—probably keeping Regulus company—and Tonks was supposedly still asleep. It was nearly four in the afternoon, and Harry's stomach was starting to growl again. Fortunately, it was at that moment that Charlie loudly announced his intentions to eat everything in Lupin's kitchen, and Mrs. Weasley replied immediately that he certainly would _not_, that he would leave some for his poor little sister who was too thin and for "dear Fabian" who also needed some meat on his bones. And as Harry laughed, he felt a sense of relief wash over him; perhaps, just perhaps, the Weasley family had just taken their first step back to normality.

Mrs. Weasley insisted on cooking in the end, and she wouldn't even let Ginny help at all. Sirius was unfortunate enough to show his face just as she began dinner, and Harry laughed aloud at the look of horror on his godfather's face as the matronly woman ordered him to fetch some potatoes and start peeling. At last, the meal was finished, and plates were loaded with the steaming food. Remus lamented the fact that Lily Potter was not present, or the room could have been expanded to fit a table large enough for fifteen into the kitchen. Instead, they had to find seats wherever there was room, and Harry found himself cross-legged on the floor in the living room, eating his potatoes and chicken wings and listening to Fred and George grilling Ginny about life in the other world.

"You've got to show us how to do a shield, Gin," said Fred.

"Just like the one Charlie described," said George. "The one that sent that Death Eater flying over the hedge . . ."

"Charlie was exaggerating!" she insisted, her face nearly as red as her hair, but she was grinning good-naturedly.

"So, Gin," said Fred with a decisively evil look on his face. "If you don't want to talk about your amazing dueling skills, I think George and I would be interested in hearing how you were ever able to hook up with Harryikins here in the other world with four of your devoted older brothers still at Hogwarts."

Harry paled.

"I think I'll pass on that question," said Ginny hastily. "I for one want to know what Charlie has going on with Tonks."

Charlie laughed, but Harry noticed that over in the corner, Lupin had gone rigid. "What do you mean?" said Charlie innocently.

"A little bird told me you were _engaged!_" exclaimed Ginny, grinning. Harry wondered if she even remembered the scene in the Hospital Wing so long ago; did she recall how heartbroken Tonks had acted all year long, and how hard Lupin had tried to discourage her from her interest in him? Did Ginny know how hard he'd taken the news of Tonks's death upon their arrival into the new universe?

"Was," said Charlie. "I was."

There were gasps all around.

He shrugged. "Not much to say. Me and Tonks, we had a lot of time to talk during our captivity, and we ended up coming to the mutual conclusion that we just weren't right for each other. Friends, sure, but married? We'd drive each other crazy."

"But . . . but _why_?" said Mrs. Weasley, looking horrified, as if suddenly Charlie was doomed to be a bachelor forever. "You were so perfect together!"

"And that was probably the reason we carried on our relationship as long as we did, Mum," explained Charlie patiently. "Everyone thought it was a match made by Merlin himself—everyone except for us, but we ended up believing you all and not really thinking it through."

Harry watched a series of emotions flying across Lupin's face; first he looked stricken, but then a burning, desperate hope filled his eyes. Perhaps, thought Harry, it wasn't too late.

"Wotcher, everyone," said someone at the door. Harry looked up; Tonks was standing there, dressed in an old t-shirt and sweats, her bare feet peeping out of the bottoms of the baggy pants. Her hair was purple today, but it was messy and unkempt, as if she'd just woken up. Her eyes roamed the room—was Harry imagining it, or had her gaze rested for just a second longer on Lupin?—and came to stop on Charlie. Tonks arched her eyebrows.

"Hullo, Tonks," he said, shifting uncomfortably. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough," she said icily. "I thought we'd agreed that I would be _present_ the first time you told people that I'd dumped you."

"Excuse me, but I do not get _dumped!" _Charlie exclaimed in mock dismay. "Especially by beautiful female Aurors!"

"Well, I don't get dumped by handsome dragon keepers either," snapped Tonks, but she was grinning. "We'd better get our stories straight."

"I dumped you."

"No, as I recall, I dumped _you!"_

"Children, children," interrupted Bill. "How about a compromise? Charlie can tell whomever he wants that he dumped you, and you, Tonks, can spread the story that you dumped him, and the rest of us will swear an Unbreakable Vow of silence."

Tonks took her time considering it. Finally, she grinned and said, "Done."

"Shake on it," commanded Bill, and reluctantly, Charlie and Tonks shook hands.

"Tonks, my dear girl," said Fabian from the couch, his eyes twinkling. "Slept long enough?"

She rolled her eyes. "Sod off, old man, you aren't the one with goddamned relatives who happen to be at Nott Manor every hour of every day. Oi, where'd you get the food?"

"Kitchen," said Ginny, pointing.

Tonks disappeared back into the kitchen, and Harry shot a questioning glance at Fabian and Charlie. "What did she mean?"

Charlie suddenly looked older. "Bellatrix Lestrange seemed to take particular pleasure in the fact that one of her blood relatives was currently locked in Nott's dungeons. She tired easily of Fabian and I, and Caradoc was of no interest to her, but she never got bored with Tonks." He lowered his voice. "Lestrange and McNair often took Tonks away, sometimes for hours, other times for days, and we never knew what was happening to her. She refused to tell us when she got back, too, though we know that whatever they did to her had quite a physical strain on her body."

Harry knew that his horror was reflected on the faces of the others, but at that moment Tonks tripped—quite literally—back into the room, and it was only his quick Seeker reflexes that saved her plate of food. "Thanks, Harry," said Tonks, regaining her balance and taking her plate back from him. "Gods, I'm hungry. Seems like it's been years since I last had a decent meal."

"That's because it _was_ years," said Charlie, and they laughed.

* * *

All too soon, it was nearing nine o'clock, and the time had come for goodbyes.

"Can't we see you again tomorrow?" asked Mrs. Weasley as she hugged Ginny.

Ginny looked pleadingly at Sirius, but he shook his head. "Not safe," he said regretfully. "We can't be too careful. If the Ministry were to discover that any of you had been visiting your daughter, you would be in serious trouble. Lucius Malfoy will not stop until there is another Weasley in Azkaban facing charges of harbouring a fugitive."

"I'll see you again soon, Mum," said Ginny, blinking back tears. "The war won't last forever. Harry and me, we're going to fight him until he's gone. Then we can all be a family again."

"But surely you're not going to put yourself in danger like that!" cried Mrs. Weasley, looking horrified at the prospect.

Her daughter rolled her eyes. "Oh, Mum, I'm in enough danger already. A little more won't hurt. But you can count on Harry and Sirius and Regulus looking after me, I swear."

Harry watched with mixed feelings. He wanted the Weasleys to be able to stay; they needed years, not a few short hours, to catch up with their daughter; but fate had ruled that Ginny must be apart from her family again, and Harry had no idea how long it would be this time. He did know that he couldn't stay in Castaway Cabin much longer. As the Secret-keeper, he was pushing the strength of the spells by being here for nearly twenty-four hours already. Another day, and the wards would begin to crumble. The house would slowly become visible to outsiders. It would no longer be safe.

Ginny was hugging Charlie tightly, then Percy, and finally Bill. "See you soon," she said softly, and stepped back as Mr. Weasley prepared to floo back to his own house.

"Wait, doesn't Tonks want to come with us?" said Mrs. Weasley. "We have room . . ."

"Maybe in the chicken coop," muttered Fred, and Ginny giggled.

Tonks smiled. "No, I'm fine here," she assured them. "Someone's got to keep Caradoc company, and I'm sure Remus won't mind, just for a few days."

"No, no, not at all," said Lupin, looking flustered, and Harry couldn't help but smirk.

Perhaps fate had something else in mind.

* * *

That night, before Harry drifted off to sleep, Ginny leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips before pillowing her head on his shoulder.

And far away at Hogwarts, Leila Potter chafed at yet another evening in which she was unable to slip away to the welcoming arms of Theodore Nott, Jeremy Javan received the silent treatment from all in his dorm but Neville Longbottom, and in the middle of the night, Luna Lovegood woke up screaming.


End file.
